Until Never Means Forever
by TVDVampire
Summary: The Sequel to Until This Lie Do Us Part. Back by popular demand, find out what Stefan and Elena were up to after they were married, but before they became parents. Heartache, happiness, etc. Oh, and Lily too.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here it is! The sequel to Until This Lie Do Us Part.**

**This will take place after Stefan and Elena got married, but before the epilogue and the baby. I hope you enjoy this as I am excited to write it. You all made Until This Lie Do Us Part such a success. I am blessed to have such devoted and passionate people reading my stories. Thank you all and please, do let me know what you think!**

He stared at her through the back sliding glass door, watching her hair blow softly in the wind as she swung slowly back and forth. It was probably one of the most beautiful things he could watch in late September with the soft glow of Fall as her backdrop. She had her long legs crossed at her ankles as she stared intently at the newest book she was reading. She had been reading a lot lately.

Slowly, he slid the door open and made his way out to her, the leaves crunching under his feet.

Elena only acknowledged him when he stood in her sunlight. He was staring down at her. "You're in my sun" she said, setting her book down on her stomach as she peered up at him, a knowing smile on her face.

"That so" he said, remaining where he was.

Elena smiled, picking her book back up. "I was trying to read" she said, returning her eyes to the page she was on.

Stefan grabbed the book from her suddenly, tossing it on the grass as he bent down, climbing carefully onto the hammock with her. "Let's try something else for a little while" he said suggestively, pinning her down with his body as he gently kissed her.

Elena didn't put up much of a fight. She never did. Not anymore. Not with him. There was no reason to. "My book was just getting really interesting" she said, moving her head to the side so she could get her words out. He kissed her every chance he got lately. She wasn't complaining though. She never would.

Stefan simply moved to kissing her neck, refusing to let his lips leave her, even if she did turn away from him. His kisses were her weakness and he knew it. "If you want to go back to reading, all you have to do is say so" he said, trailing his tongue back up to her ear and then nibbling on the bottom of it.

She squirmed beneath him, trying to get her arms free so she could run her hands through his hair. When her arms were finally free, she allowed herself to get lost in the moment with him for a little while. She loved these moments where nothing else mattered. She cherished them. He was pulling at her shirt eventually, doing a poor job of undoing the buttons. Elena took this chance to glance at the pink and silver Tiffany's watch that Stefan had bought for her as a wedding gift. She loved it, though she knew that he had paid entirely way too much for it. "Lily is going to be here shortly" she said.

Stefan stopped kissing her and stared down at her. He sighed, leaving her shirt alone. "Is it four already?" he asked. Elena held up her shiny, overly expensive watch for him to see. "Damn, where does the time go?" he asked.

"You work so much of it away so you can afford these expensive gifts for me" she stated, sitting up. Stefan scooted off of her, but remained close beside her.

She always complained when he bought her things. "I like buying you nice things" he told her. "You deserve them" he added, grabbing a strand of her hair and letting it run through his fingers. She deserved every single thing that she wanted. There was no price on happiness, and she had made his so incredibly happy that he knew he could never repay her. Not with materialistic things and not with his love. It was impossible.

"I miss this. Us" she said, grabbing his hand softly as she looked up at him. They had been married for about a month now and it seemed like their lives had gotten so busy that they rarely had a moment to be alone with each other unless they were in bed. But usually then, they were so tired that they fell right to sleep. Stefan was busy with work and Elena was still looking for the perfect job. When she wasn't doing that, she was volunteering and spending time with Lily.

"I miss us too" he said, leaning forward to kiss her softly. "Let's take off for the weekend" he said, a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Elena's eyes lit up too. She could think of so many places that she would love to go. Maybe he would take her to New York or Florida for those two days. "Where?" she asked, barely being able to contain her excitement. The thought of being alone – completely alone – with Stefan was something she had wanted badly.

Stefan thought about it for a moment. "When was the last time you went camping?" he asked.

Elena's excitement fell. "Camping?" she asked, hiding her disappointment. Like, with bugs and wild animals? Stefan nodded. "We don't own a camper" Elena reminded him.

Stefan laughed at her. "No, but we have a tent" he informed her. "We'll really rough it. Cook our own food, sleep on the ground …" he trailed off. She didn't look convinced. "Just you and me. No interruptions" he whispered as he leaned in closer to her.

Elena liked the sound of that. She sighed reluctantly. "Fine. But if I see a bear, we're out of there" she told him.

Stefan smiled, pulling her into a hug. "I'll make it fun, I promise" he said, holding her close.

"It better be" she said, tucking her face into his shoulder. "I don't do bugs for just anyone" she added.

"I consider myself very lucky then" he grinned, pulling away from her finally. "I'm going to go and fix a snack for when Lily gets here" he said. He got up off the hammock and handed Elena back her book.

Elena leaned back in her hammock and hugged her book, not sure whether to feel excited or apprehensive about the weekend. She smiled anyway, because she was going to get Stefan all to herself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Yes" Damon said.

"No" Lily replied.

"Yes" he argued.

"No" she argued back.

Stefan and Elena both silently laughed as they heard the father-daughter duo coming into the house. "What do you want to bet they're arguing about sunscreen" Stefan said. She hated the stuff and put up a fight every time she was told to put it on.

"Then you can't go play outside" Damon said, dropping Lily's backpack on a kitchen chair.

"I already put some on this morning" she said matter of factly.

"You have to reapply it" Damon said, looking like he was at his wits end.

"Do not" Lily said, crossing her arms. Damon could see so much of her mother in her that sometimes it drove him absolutely insane.

Stefan and Elena exchanged knowing looks before Stefan stepped in. "Sunscreen. Now" he told her, eyeing her and daring her to backtalk him too.

Lily's little lips were pressed into a hard line as she looked to Elena. Elena simply nodded, agreeing with Stefan. Lily stomped her foot and huffed. "Fine!" she said, digging for it in her backpack.

Damon mouthed a thank you to them before sitting down. "You look exhausted" Elena pointed out.

Damon looked up at her. "That's cuz he's been staying up late playing hide-and-go-seek with Mommy" Lily informed, squirting sunscreen onto her arm.

Damon grinned. "Katherine has been keeping me up" he told them, thinking back on it.

"And that's all we need to know" Stefan said, stopping his brother from giving further details.

"Uncle Stefan you needs sunscreen too" Lily said, motioning for him to come and sit down on the floor next to her.

He did so and Lily went to work with glopping it on his face and rubbing it in. "Elena and I are going to take off for the weekend" Stefan informed Damon. "Camping" he added.

"You, camping?" Damon asked, turning to Elena to confirm it. Then he laughed. "Stefan is the worst person to camp with."

Stefan glared at him. "I am not!" he said, somewhat irritated with his brother feeding Elena this lie.

Lily dropped a big glob of sunscreen on the floor and used the hem of her uncle's shirt to wipe it up while he was preoccupied with his conversation.

"You can't start a fire outside to save your life. Or hers" Damon said, pointing at Elena and smiling. Elena was smiling too. "You can't keep a tent standing either" he added, remembering the last time they went on fishing trip. "Elena, tell him you want to go to a hotel" Damon said.

"Daddy I want a cookie" Lily said, abandoning her job of putting on Stefan's sunscreen and tugging on her father's pants. Damon ignored her.

"We're not staying in a hotel" Stefan stated stubbornly.

"It was nice knowing you" Damon said to Elena. Elena smiled again, then stopped when Stefan glared at her too.

"Daddy, I want a cookie" Lily said again. Again, she was ignored. Lily crossed her arms and pouted.

"We'll be fine" Stefan told Damon. "Elena trusts me, right Babe?" he asked, looking over at her hopeful.

Lily had crawled up into the kitchen chair and was helping herself to the plate of cookies on her own. She ignored the plate of carrots and celery sitting next to it.

Elena blushed upon hearing him call her that. He had started doing it recently and she kind of really liked it. Elena walked over to Stefan and looped her arms around his waist, kissing his cheek. "I love you" she said, refusing to answer his question. "I'm going to go and change into my swimsuit" she added.

"Me too me too!" Lily said, holding her arms out for Elena to grab her on her way by.

Elena piggy-backed her out of the kitchen, smiling as she did. "How many cookies did you manage to sneak?" Elena asked her, turning to go up the stairs.

"Four" Lily said. "I gots one for you too" Lily said, pulling one out of the pocket of her shorts. Elena opened her mouth and Lily let her take a bite before deciding that she wanted another bite herself.

"Thanks" Elena smiled, continuing up the stairs with Lily.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena and Lily both took turns running through the sprinkler, both laughing as they did. Stefan finished filling up Lily's kiddie pool, but he was watching them, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. Who would have thought that he would have wanted to be standing there, watching two of his favorite girls laugh and smile all afternoon?

"Uncle Stefan come on!" Lily called, wiping water off of her face. She then grabbed Elena's hand and ran through the sprinkler with her once more.

Stefan shut the hose off and walked towards them, smiling. "Hey you two, careful" he grinned.

Elena stopped, raising her eyebrow at him. "Why?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged as he got closer. "Just in case, you know, this happens!" he yelled, running at Elena and grabbing her. He threw her over his shoulder and took off through the sprinkler and then across the yard with her.

"Stefan!" she squealed, holding on for dear life as he continued running. She could see Lily running after them.

"I'll save you!" Lily yelled, running as fast as her little feet would take her. "Uncle Stefan let go of her!" Lily demanded. Stefan laughed as he kept running. It was a full on chase now.

Lily fell to the ground though, having tripped, and cried out for help.

Stefan immediately stopped, set Elena down and ran back for Lily. "You okay, Lil?" he asked, grabbing her arms and helping her back up.

Lily nodded her head and then smiled brightly. "Got ya! Run Elena run!" she yelled, taking off back for the sprinkler.

Stefan stared after his niece in disbelief. "She just played me to save you" he said, looking back at Elena.

Elena grinned. "Us girls have to look out for each other" she shrugged. She began to walk by him, ready to jump in the kiddie pool and cool off some more.

But Stefan reached his arm out and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. He grabbed onto the strings hanging off of the bottom of her bikini and smiled. "I love this on you" he said, running his hand down the back of her leg. "I love it off of you more, though" he added, kissing along her ear.

Elena felt her cheeks turn red as she giggled. "Not with your niece here" Elena warned.

"Our niece" Stefan corrected, pulling Elena even closer to him. He kissed her lips quickly and smiled. "Later" he promised, smacking her backside playfully before letting her go.

"You're too much sometimes" she said, shaking her head as she walked away from him.

"You shouldn't wear things like that and expect me to keep my hands to myself" he called out after her. She blushed again as she made her way back to the kiddie pool.

Lily jumped in and joined her, splashing around because she couldn't sit still. "Uncle Stefan never laughed with the other girls he kissed" Lily said, playing now with a plastic boat Stefan had brought out for her.

"Never?" Elena asked, looking at Lily. Stefan never really talked about the other girls he "dated".

"Nope" Lily answered. "They were all stupid and stuff" she shrugged. Elena smiled. She was glad for that.

"What are you two talking about?" Stefan asked, joining them finally.

"All the girls you kissed" Lily answered, making a motor noise for her boat.

Stefan seemed to flush just a bit, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. But he recovered quickly. "So you kissed a lot of girls, huh?" Elena asked teasingly.

Stefan shrugged. "Yeah, but I only loved one" he said, leaning over and kissing her.

Elena closed her eyes, smiling. "Good answer" she told him, grabbing his hand to hold.

Lily, not one to be left out, made her way over to them, scooting her way into Elena's lap. Stefan and Elena both smiled at one another before leaning in and kissing again. "I love you" he mouthed, squeezing her hand gently. She mouthed it right back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan watched from where he was standing at his dresser. Elena was standing at her dresser in her yoga pants and one of his t-shirts, brushing her hair. Slowly, he walked up behind her, wrapping is arms around her and kissing the back of her neck that was exposed to him. "I love seeing Lily so happy when she's around you" he said, sighing as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He couldn't think of a better role model for their niece. Elena set her brush down.

"It's kind of ridiculous how much I love her" Elena smiled, taking her earrings out. "And it's kind of ridiculous how much I want you right now" she added, her face as innocent as could be.

His eyes got wide. "God I love when you say things like that" he said, turning her around so he could kiss her properly.

But she stopped him. "I'm kind of tired though" she told him.

He looked like a kid who had just had his Christmas taken away. "Really?" he asked, a frown appearing.

Elena broke out into a smile. "No" she said. "It's just nice knowing how much you want me too" she told him, a hint of sadness in her voice. Almost like she couldn't believe that he would.

He loosened his grip on her and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm always going to want you" he said, placing a feather light kiss on her nose.

Elena smiled before pulling away from him and leading him back to the bed. She laid down with him, wrapping her arms around him. "You know what I was thinking about?" she asked.

"Hmmm?" he asked, lazily kissing along her arm.

"If I hadn't gone through that horrible relationship, I wouldn't have found you" she said, staring up at the ceiling.

Stefan moved over her, kissing her chin and then the corner of her lips. He shook his head. "I would have found you one way or another" he said, slowly kissing her again.

"You think?" she smiled.

"I know" he added. "The universe wouldn't be so cruel as to keep us apart."

"Good" she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you" she sighed again.

"Love you more" he said, tugging on the waistband of her yoga pants.

"No" she breathed, kicking her pants off and wondering why she had bothered putting them on anyway.

"Yes" he grinned, grabbing for her shirt next.

"Fine" she said, giving up. "You love me more. Now shut up and get on with it" she practically demanded.

Stefan laughed at her. "Impatient, are we?" he asked.

"Are you complaining about that?" she asked, pushing on his shoulders and flipping them over.

"Not at all" he said, leaning his head back as she traced her hands down his chest and across his abs. She went back up and ran her hands down his arms. He smiled at her lazily, locking his eyes with hers. "Well, get on with it" he smirked, using her own words on her.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The sequel continues. I am really happy to be able to write these characters again. I love them dearly. I love the fact that they have struggled in the past, but are happy with each other now. I love the fact that they will struggle in the future, too. So many possibilities with them.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews! You all are great. I know I have told a few of you, but now I will tell all of you, I would not write and post if you all were no so invested in the stories. I do not have enough time to write these stories for only myself – I make time to write for you all. So thank you for giving me a reason to write :D **

**I have over 170 followers on Twitter. This is exciting. I am pretty good about posting when I will be updating or when I have updated. Please feel free to follow/tweet me: TVDVampireKat**

Lily was spending the night. She had argued that if they weren't going to spend all weekend with her, then they had to let her stay Friday night. She was very persuasive, having called her uncle and explained how very sad she was going to be if she couldn't see them before they went camping. She didn't have to cry – she could just look at Stefan and get whatever she wanted from him. Sometimes she cried for dramatic effect. Not this time though.

Elena just laughed. She knew how it was between them. Lily was incredibly smart. She could charm her way into getting whatever she wanted from the men in her life.

"She's asleep" Stefan whispered, crawling his way into bed and wrapping his body around Elena in the process. He kissed behind her shoulder, his hands reaching up under her shirt, caressing her stomach.

Elena groaned. "Not tonight" she mumbled. "I'm too tired." She felt him sigh long and hard against her neck, clearly disappointed. "Love you" she added, grabbing onto one of his hands and holding it.

"Love you too" he said, placing one last kiss on the back of her neck before drifting off to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was around 1 AM when their bedroom door slowly opened. Quiet little feet tip-toed to Stefan's side of the bed. She poked him in the forehead. "Uncle Stefan" she whispered.

Stefan stirred, his eyes adjusting to the dark room and falling on her little face peering down at him. "Lil?" he asked sleepily. "What's wrong?" he asked. By now, Elena had woken too, leaning over Stefan slightly to look at Lily.

"I had a bad dream" Lily said sadly. "Can I sleep in here with you?" she asked.

Stefan felt Elena squeeze his shoulder. "Yeah, come up here" he said, grabbing her and pulling her into bed with them. Lily squeezed her way in between Stefan and Elena, getting under the blankets and sharing their pillows. Stefan and Elena both turned to look at her. Elena brushed some of her messy hair out of her face. "What was the bad dream about?" he asked her.

Lily sighed. "A monster was hiding under my bed and was trying to get me" she said quietly.

Stefan smiled at her. Bad monster dreams were his specialty. "What did the monster look like?" he asked her.

Lily seemed to falter for a moment before remembering. "It was yellow and had purple hair" she said.

"That sounds like one ugly monster" Elena said sleepily. Lily turned to face Elena and nodded. "Did you tell the monster that your Uncle Stefan was going to come and chase him away?" Elena asked.

Lily shook her head no. "He was too scary" she told her.

"Ah. Well, if you ever see that monster again, you tell him that your Uncle Stefan doesn't like monsters, and neither does your Aunt Elena" Elena said, smiling at Lily. "We can be very scary if we have to be" she added.

"Yes we can" Stefan agreed, liking that Elena was taking over.

Lily giggled. "You're not scary Elena" she told her. "You're the nicest, prettiest person I know."

Elena's heart swelled. What a beautiful, perfect loving child. She wanted one just like her. Well, minus the temper tantrums and bouts of manipulation. "Elena can be scary if she had to protect you" Stefan informed Lily.

Lily seemed to think about this for a moment. "Scary like you say she is when she doesn't have her coffee in the morning Uncle Stefan?" Lily asked innocently. Elena glared at Stefan and quickly kicked his foot with her own. "Cause you said when Elena doesn't have her coffee, she starts to be really …" she said, but Stefan covered her mouth with his hand.

"I think Elena knows what I probably shouldn't mean" Stefan said, letting go of Lily when he was sure that she wouldn't keep talking. He needed to change the subject. "You tell that monster that next time, I will come in there and drag him out from under the bed and throw him out the window" Stefan told her.

"Okay" Lily agreed.

"Okay" Stefan repeated, pulling the blanket up to Lily's chin. "Go back to sleep" he told her, kissing the side of her head.

Elena did the same and Lily snuggled into her even more, resting her head against her shoulder. Elena continued to glare at Stefan. She was not scary in the mornings without her coffee. Unless Stefan was being particularly obnoxious that morning. Then maybe, yeah. "Goodnight" Elena whispered to Lily.

"Night" Lily whispered back. "I hope there's coffee in the morning" she giggled. Right then, Stefan knew that Lily knew exactly what she was doing. Stirring up trouble by being cute. He couldn't help it. He laughed too. Elena kicked him again, though she was smiling too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena woke up to an empty bed. Stefan and Lily were nowhere to be found. She got up, yawned and stretched and then headed downstairs in search of them. The sight before her made her break into the biggest smile.

Stefan was standing with Lily, who was standing on a chair, at the stove, flipping pancakes. Lily was wearing an apron that was too big for her. Her braided pigtails were also lopsided – clearly Stefan's doing. "This one" Stefan told her, pointing as Lily used the spatula and flipped it over. "This one is done" he would say, holding out a plate for her.

"Something smells good" Elena said, making her presence known.

"I'm making pancakes" Lily announced, glancing back at her and smiling. "Uncle Stefan is just watching" she added, making it known that she was doing this all by herself.

"Can I help?" Elena asked.

"No" Lily replied. "You can go sit down and have juice" she directed, placing another pancake on the plate.

Stefan laughed as Elena sulked over to the table, having been ordered around by a 7-year old who was also quite aware that Elena could not cook. "Done?" Stefan asked, switching off the stove and grabbing Lily, hanging her sideways as he grabbed the plate of pancakes and walked over to where Elena was sitting. Lily giggled until Stefan set her down.

"This all looks amazing" Elena told them both.

"I know" Lily replied. "Uncle Stefan teaches me how to cook" she said. "He can teach you too" she added, scrunching up her face at the horrible memory of the spaghetti that Elena had made for lunch not too long ago.

Elena pretended to be mock offended by that. "What's wrong with my cooking?" she asked Lily.

Lily grinned. "You just need lots of help so Uncle Stefan and I don't have to hide food in our napkins and throw it away later when you're not looking" she stated honestly.

Elena's eyes darted to Stefan's who looked as guilty as could be. "Remember what I said about that being our little secret?" Stefan asked Lily, glaring at her.

Lily shrugged. "You're not supposed to keep secrets from people that you love" Lily stated.

"Who told you that?" Stefan asked curiously.

Lily pointed at Elena and smiled. Elena's scowl began to soften at that. Elena had told Lily that a while back. "Its okay, Aunt Elena. You are really good at toasting Pop-Tarts" Lily said, trying to make her feel better. "Uncle Stefan won't even let me eat them for breakfast" she added, scowling at him now too. She loved them.

"Yeah, see? You can do Pop-Tarts really well" Stefan grinned. Elena attempted to kick him under the table, but he looped his legs around her. "Not nice" he warned playfully. He never did give her her foot back the entire breakfast.

They waited for Damon to pick Lily up before they loaded the SUV – a rental because Stefan didn't want their cars getting dirty in the mountains. It was going to take a couple of hours to drive there, but Stefan made the time pass fairly quickly with telling stories about when he was growing up. He had never really mentioned his childhood all that much. Elena listened with enthusiasm, laughing most of the time. She thought that she would have liked to know him back then.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan and Elena both stared at the tent that was lying flat on the ground. Stefan had made five attempts at getting it set up, all of which failed. "Maybe you should read the instructions" Elena suggested.

He glared at her. He had told her he didn't need them. But with it beginning to get dark, maybe he did need them. "Fine. I'll go back to the car. Wait here" he told her.

Elena laughed as soon as he was out of earshot. Damon was right. Stefan was hopeless when it came to camping. She walked over to the tent, examined it, and then began fiddling with the poles. In less than five minutes, she had it standing and all staked into the ground. She had done this before – a yearly camping trip with her friends when she was in high school.

She grabbed their sleeping bags and began laying them out. Stefan was back ten minutes later, reading the instructions. He stopped abruptly when he saw the tent. "There was an important piece still in the bag" she lied. "It went up fairly easy as soon as I added it."

Stefan grumbled, dropping the instructions on the picnic table. "I'll start a fire" he told her, walking over to the fire pit and adding the wood that he had bought along the way. Elena sat down and watched him. He would strike a match, place it on the newspaper under the wood, and it would go out. He did this about ten times before he got frustrated.

"I hear that pinecones work really well" Elena mentioned. She felt bad for him. Clearly he had this perception of himself being a camping kind of guy when in reality, he really did suck at it. But he was trying so hard. Stefan got up and went in search of pinecones while Elena grabbed a lighter and a fire starter from her bag. She had prepared for anything and everything that could go wrong, thanks to Damon's warning.

When Stefan returned, the fire was roaring to life. He frowned. "Oh, you had gotten it started and I just blew on it for a few minutes and it caught on fire pretty quickly" she told him, having hid the lighter back in her bag.

Stefan dropped the pinecones and sat down on a log facing the fire. "You're lying. About the fire and the tent" he told her. She frowned then too. "I guess Damon was right. This was a mistake." He had wanted so desperately to have a good time with Elena this weekend.

Elena sat down with him and wrapped her arms around his arm, resting her chin on his shoulder. "So you are no good at camping" she shrugged. "You're good at a bunch of other things, one of which I'm expecting you to prove your talent for tonight inside that tent" she said, her eyes lighting up at just the thought.

Stefan smiled, suddenly forgetting his inadequacy in the camping department. "I am pretty good at that, aren't I?" he asked, slipping his arm around Elena and pulling her close. He leaned his head against hers and smiled. "I love you" he said, brushing his lips against hers just slightly. Elena tugged on his shirt, wanting him to put more into the kiss than he was. "Ah ah ah, we have dinner to make first" he reminded her, pulling back just slightly. She looked disappointed. "Later, I promise" he smiled, kissing her ear before standing up.

It turned out that he was pretty good with the grill that they had packed along. Elena set the table, keeping an eye out for bugs that were trying to get into the rest of the food. She set two cups on either side of the table before sitting down. Stefan made his way over with a plate of ribs that he had spent quite a bit of time on. "Dinner is served" he said proudly, setting the plate down.

He sat down next to Elena, rather than on the other side of her, surprising her momentarily, but she wasn't going to complain. Not when she could curl into his side and eat corn on the cob, stealing glances up at him. "This all looks great" she told him, grabbing various food items to add to her plate. Stefan did the same thing. "Do you really hide the food I cook in your napkin and throw it away later?" she asked him, looking up momentarily.

Stefan refused to make eye-contact with her. "Yeah" he said guiltily.

Elena sighed. "If it's that bad, why don't you ever say anything?" she asked. She would never put so much energy into cooking if she had known that he and Lily hated it.

Stefan sighed this time. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings" he said quietly. "I know how hard you work when you cook" he said, chancing a glance at her.

Elena smiled. "You can be honest with me, you know that, right?" she asked him, bumping his knee with hers.

"I know" he said, wrapping his arm around her. He still felt bad.

"Teach me" she said, looking up at him. His raised his eyebrow at her. "You teach Lily how to cook. Teach me" she said.

Stefan smiled. "I can do that" he told her.

Elena nodded. "Good" she said, picking up her plastic fork and trying her potato salad. "Id' hate for you two to starve just because my cooking was so awful" she added.

Stefan smirked down at her. "You're pretty good at other things, you know" he told her.

"Yeah, like what?" she asked curiously, though she knew the direction he was taking this conversation.

"I'll let you show me in the tent tonight" he shrugged, letting go of her and going back to his own dinner.

Elena smiled. "What if the tent is too uncomfortable?" she asked. She could see Stefan's eyes full of disbelief.

"Please" he scoffed. "We've done it on the staircase AND the piano. I think we can handle the ground" he told her, winking for added effect. Elena blushed at both memories. They had learned to get pretty creative when neither of them could wait to make it upstairs to a bed. "You're really cute when you blush" he said, smiling before he bit into one of his ribs.

Elena tried to get her blushing under control, but gave up. "I know I was against coming out here, but I really am having a good time, being with you" she told him honestly.

Stefan set his food down and sighed. "You know, when you say things like that, it makes me feel really guilty because all I want to do is rip your clothes off" he told her, trying hard not to smile.

"Oh, I want to do that too" she assured him. "But I like this – being next to you and being able to hold you" she explained.

Stefan kissed her hair and smiled. Yeah, he liked that too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was curled up on Stefan as they watched the fire slowly die down. He would whisper things in her ear that would either make her laugh or make her skin heat up. He alternated though, making the last few hours before bed very enjoyable ones. "Ready for bed?" he asked quietly, kissing her shoulder.

Elena leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Only if you carry me" she said, clearly too comfortable to get herself up. She could have stayed in his lap, wrapped in his arms, forever.

Stefan grinned as he slowly stood up with her and looped his arms around her waist and legs, lifting her up. He strolled on over to the tent with her, unzipped it, and stumbled in with her. Elena laughed just as Stefan caught her from hitting the ground. "Guess I'm not as graceful as I thought I was" he grinned, turning to zip the tent back up. Elena had scooted back and into her sleeping bag. "Where'd you go?" Stefan asked, looking around the completely dark tent.

Elena giggled. It was such a wonderful sound – something he looked forward to hearing every day. "In my sleeping bag" she told him.

Stefan crawled to her, hovering above her as he assessed what exactly he was going to do. "I think we need to get these clothes off" he said, his tone serious but Elena was still laughing from earlier. He quickly rid himself of his sweatshirt and t-shirt.

"Okay" she said, unzipping her jeans and tugging them down. She pulled them out of her sleeping bag and tossed them aside before grabbing her shirt and taking that off too. Stefan tugged his jeans down expectantly. "Get in here" she told him, zipping the sleeping bag down a little more so he could crawl in with her.

"There's not going to be a lot of room in there with both of us" he mentioned, liking the idea already.

"Are you complaining?" she asked, placing herself as far into the bag as she could.

"Hell no" Stefan said, slipping his feet in and slowly moving his way into the sleeping bag, touching her body with his whenever he got the chance. When Elena zipped it up, there was literally about three inches of space between them. "I like a good challenge" he grinned, kissing against her throat as his hands massaged the backs of her knees.

Elena let her lips fall open slightly, admiring his touch. She had missed this so much and vowed to never let their lives get too busy for this again. "Stefan?" she whispered. He tore his lips away from her painfully slow as he raised his head to look at her. "Go slow" she said so softly that he had to listen carefully. "I want this to last for a while."

She felt his smile against her lips and moved her fingers along his back. "Okay" he said, breaking their kiss briefly to answer her.

He left a whole lot of soft, searing kisses on her body that burned her skin and made her want more. She had lost all ability to think as his lips and hands roamed her body, gently nipping at her skin and then soothing her with his touch. They had both started to sweat, probably due to the fact that they were enclosed in a sleeping bag. Neither seemed to mind, either.

She entangled her legs with his as their breathing got heavier. She wanted to cry out every now and then, but he always kissed her, silencing her. "You don't want other people in the campground to know what we're doing, do you?" he would whisper against her lips, a devilish grin playing on his own lips.

Horror would spread across Elena's face, but a kiss or touch from him would soon make her forget about what he had just said. "That feels good" she would whisper instead, a smile forming when he would continue doing whatever he was doing.

Hours later, it must have been, he had unzipped the sleeping bag and just left it to cover them so that their sweaty bodies could breathe a little. "I love you" he whispered, running his hand along the back of her spine as she rested on top of him. She had no energy to move, her body heavy against his. "More than you'll ever know" he added.

She kissed his chest and sighed. "I think I know how much" she whispered back, smiling against his shoulder as she laid there.

"You think so?" he asked, continuing to move his hand along her back, sometimes pressing his fingers into the small curves along the way.

"Yeah" she breathed. "Because I feel the same way."

**A/N: Thoughts? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Finally! This took me forever! I had no idea what I was going to do with this story, so I just sort of went with whatever came to my mind. I think it will work out though. Do let me know what you think. I appreciate your thoughts and questions :D**

Stefan winced as he felt something touch his nose. His eyes slowly fluttered open to see what the annoying object was. "Morning" Elena grinned, dropping the small twig that she had been poking him with the past five minutes to wake him. She moved closer to him, touching her nose to his before kissing him. "Last night?" she whispered. "You really know how to make a girl feel loved" she whispered again before kissing him.

Stefan groaned, loving the way she was making him feel. Damn. He was one lucky guy. "Mmmm … say more things like that" he told her, reaching his arms up and securing them around her.

Elena laughed sleepily before kissing his chin. "I would love nothing more than to enlighten you on what you do to me, Mr. Salvatore" she grinned. "But, we need to get up and get showered, seeing as how we have to go back home today" she reminded.

Stefan sighed. "I don't want to go back home" he said, letting his hands trail down her naked back. "You don't get naked that often at home anymore" he whispered, resting his lips against her hair, inhaling the green apple scent.

This made her frown. Though, it was true. "I don't want to be one of those married couples who never have sex" she said, lifting her head up to look at him anxiously.

Stefan smiled. "Me either" he said. "I just miss you" he added, kissing her forehead.

Elena smiled as an idea popped into her head. "Let's spend the weekends together, just you and me" she proposed. "We don't even have to go anywhere. We can … stay in bed all weekend or watch movies" she said, leaning down and kissing him slowly.

"I like that" he told her. "But" he said, placing his finger against her lips to keep her from kissing him again. "I want us to both be in bed by 9:00 on the weekdays" he said, adding his own terms. "To ensure I get my Elena-loving time in" he added, a sly grin forming.

"Elena-loving time?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded. "Oh Stefan" she said, drumming her fingers on his chest. "So needy" she added.

"When I'm married to someone who looks as amazing as you do, can you blame me?" he asked. Elena blushed and hid her face. "You know, the appropriate response would be to say something like that about me" he added.

"Yes, I am married to a sex God" Elena mumbled, slightly embarrassed. She lifted her head up and saw him grinning at her. His hands stilled, resting on her waist. "We have to get up" she said, determined to derail whatever plans he had for them in that tent.

"No" he said, his eyes dancing with humor.

"No?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"That's right, no" he said, tightening his hold on her. "We've got this campsite until 6:00 PM and I intend to get my money's worth" he added, his fingers softly skimming her sides when he realized that she really wasn't trying too hard to get away.

Elena frowned. "You told me about all the fun things we were going to do. Hiking, taking a boat out on the lake. I wanted to do all of that" she said, her disappointment evident.

How was he supposed to argue when she gave him that "pouty, I'm not happy" look? He hated that look. Lily did it too. "Alright, alright" he said. Her eyes lit up and she jumped away from him, grabbing her neatly folded yoga pants and tank top that she had never gotten around to putting on the night before.

"Are you going to shower?" she asked, digging through her bag for her shower supplies and a towel.

"Yeah" he sighed. Elena tossed his shorts and t-shirt at him. He slipped them on and then watched Elena move around the tent, getting everything together that she needed. He smiled. "How did I get so lucky?" he asked himself.

"What?" Elena asked, turning to look at him.

"Nothing" he said, shaking his head. "Ready?" he asked, moving to unzip the tent. He crawled out of it, stretching before offering his hand and helping her out.

"I think it is going to be gorgeous out today" Elena said, continuing to hold his hand as they walked down the path toward the bathrooms. There were various tents and campers along the way. Most people were already up and making breakfast.

"I hope so" he said, walking leisurely with her. They made it to the bathrooms a few minutes later. Elena let go of his hand to walk in, but he caught her in his arms. "Wait for me" he said, dragging her back to him.

Elena laughed. "These aren't coed bathrooms, Stefan. You have to shower by yourself" she told him.

Stefan's face fell as he glanced up at the two doors opposite each other and saw that they were in fact labeled men and women. He frowned. "The only reason I got out of the tent was because I thought we were going to shower together" he whined.

Elena turned around in his arms and grinned. "We can shower together tonight when we get home. For now, we shower separately." She handed him some soap and shampoo from her bucket and kissed his lips quickly. "See you in fifteen" she told him before disappearing into the bathroom.

Stefan grumbled as he stalked into the men's room.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was waiting for her when she got out of the bathroom, her hair braided down along her back and her makeup minimal, but flawless. She smiled, accepting his warm embrace. "Miss me that much?" she asked, feeling him hold her tight.

"Mmm hmmm" he said, letting his hands trail down her back. "I love these shorts" he said, running his hands further down along her backside.

Elena gasped, backing away from him suddenly. "There are people around us" she warned. Stefan laughed, shaking his head as he held his hand out to her, ready to go. Elena hesitated. "I'll behave. Promise" he said.

Elena reluctantly gave him her hand. "You are impossible, you know that?" she said, walking alongside him.

"You're the one who married me" he sang, kicking a pinecone out of his way as he walked.

"You didn't really give me a choice" she smiled. "I have a feeling that you wouldn't have given up until I agreed" she continued. "Even a restraining order wouldn't have deterred you."

Stefan tugged on her hand and she collided into his side where he was able to wrap his arms around her. "Not even a restraining order" he grinned, pressing a light kiss to her temple. "You and your feistiness" he laughed, shaking his head, remembering when she had slammed him up against the wall when he had made a bold pass at her. Now, he liked when she pushed him into walls. It usually was a precursor for something he was going to really like.

They dropped their things off back at the tent before they set out on their hike. "So, I was thinking…" Elena began as they walked along the dirt path.

"Uh oh" Stefan said, earning him a disproving look.

"Maybe I should have my own horse" she said. "You and Lily both have horses. And if I want to do more riding with both of you, I should have a horse too."

Stefan thought about her proposal. "Yeah, I suppose you should" he said. "I'll call up a buddy of mine. He probably has a suitable one for you."

"No, I'd like to pick my own horse out" she told him, tightening her grip on his hand as they began climbing up a steep hill.

"You do" he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well, I don't want you getting some wild horse that will hurt you" he informed her.

"I understand that" she told him. "But, I would like to have options, rather than just one picked out for me" she explained. "I want to make sure that the horse and I get along. I want a new best friend" she shrugged.

Stefan smiled. That was adorable. "You are quite possibly cuter than Lily, you know that?" he told her. A new best friend. It made him want to laugh.

"Not possible" Elena grinned. "We'll discuss the horse later. Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Just down there" he said, pointing to a dock as soon as a clearing opened up. He led her back down the hill and waved at a guy mulling around on the dock. "Stefan Salvatore" he said, shaking the man's hand. "My wife, Elena" he added, smiling at her.

Elena still felt giddy at being introduced as his wife. She couldn't help it. "Nice to meet you" she said, extending her own hand.

"You too" the man said, smiling at her. "Your boat is ready" he informed.

"Thank you" he said, leading Elena towards the end of the dock. It was a small wooden boat with paddles and two benches facing each other. He climbed into the boat and held out his hand for Elena to join him. "Watch your step" he smiled as she landed right in front of him.

She looked up into his eyes, her love and adoring look starting with her eyes and ending with her smile. "Thank you" she said, kissing his lips quickly before taking her seat. Stefan took his seat as well and untied the boat.

They were in the middle of the lake in no time. Elena sat back and watched Stefan's muscles flex as he rowed. It was a beautiful sight. "Enjoying the view?" he asked, taking a rest.

Elena nodded. "Very much, Mr. Salvatore." Stefan grinned as he stood, the boat rocking as a result. Elena gripped the sides of the boat. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Stefan proceeded to take the bench out and lay it in the back of the boat. "Stand" he said, turning back around to offer her his hand. Elena did so and Stefan took her bench out too. He spread a blanket out on the floor of the boat. "Come here" he said, sitting down and holding his arms out for her to follow. She did. Stefan leaned back and looked up at the sky. Elena did the same. "It's so peaceful out here" he murmured, as the boat rocked gently back and forth.

Elena sighed and closed her eyes. "It really is" she agreed, resting her head against his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her, running his fingers along her shoulder. "I love you" he whispered.

"I'll never tire of hearing you say that to me" she murmured. "I love you, too."

His heart still fluttered when he heard her say it to him. He was okay with getting excited every time he heard it because he knew, he was going to hear it again the next day and the day after that. She really, truly loved him. And she wasn't going anywhere.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The camping trip had been way too short, Elena decided. It was almost time for bed when they got home and had unpacked the car. "Thank you" Elena said, grabbing on to his shirt and pulling him in to kiss her by the car. "I had a really nice time."

"Get any bug bites?" Stefan asked, checking her bare arms.

Elena grinned. "I'm not sure. Maybe you can get a better look when we get into bed" she said, trailing her finger along his chest before walking away.

He groaned. "You better not change your mind!" he called out after her, holding three of her bags and the tent in his arms. Elena threw him a flirtatious smile before heading inside.

"I'm so tired" Elena complained, falling into bed next to Stefan. "But I did have fun" she added.

"You always have fun with me" he grinned, rolling her over so that he could kiss her. "If I remember correctly, I'm supposed to check you for bug bites" he whispered, kissing her cheek before snaking his hands up under her shirt. He moved his lips, trailing them down her neck.

Elena couldn't help the giggle that escaped from her. "How is this checking for bug bites?" she asked skeptically as he continued to kiss her, touch her. Hell, she was losing all ability to even think about what he was doing to her now.

"Don't you worry" he whispered, his mouth against her ear. "I am very, very qualified" he added.

Elena's heartbeat began to quicken. She loved when he talked to her like that, right against her ear. It was, well, sexy. She closed her eyes and allowed Stefan to take over. She didn't care how tired she was tonight. She missed him. Their weekend had reminded her of that.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was nearly noon when they had both finally rolled out of bed and into the shower. Stefan had taken the day off, figuring that he would be exhausted following the camping trip. He was right.

He found himself walking back upstairs, finding Elena in front of the mirror, attempting to clasp a necklace around her neck. He smiled and smoothly stepped in behind her, taking it and doing it for her. "Thank you" she smiled, locking eyes with him in the mirror.

"You're welcome" he smiled back, placing a kiss on the back of her shoulder. "I'm meeting Lily for ice cream. Do you want to come?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "You go. I'm going to answer some e-mails and call my brother and Bonnie" she told him.

Stefan nodded. "Okay. Tell them I said hi" he replied, turning her briefly so that he could properly kiss her. "I'll be home in an hour or so" he said, kissing her one last time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I have a problem, Uncle Stefan" Lily said, her tone and face serious as she sat across from him at the table.

Stefan looked up at her, a bit alarmed at why a 7-year old was so serious about something. "What is it?" he asked her.

She took a slow breath and set her spoon down. "I want to get a savings account" she told him. Stefan didn't see a problem with that. "But Daddy says all the money he gives me has to go in there, which means I can't buy everything I want no more" she explained, enlightening her uncle about her new crisis.

Stefan tried so hard not to grin. "Well, Babe, maybe you have to start thinking about not buying everything you want" he told her with a small shrug. "You know, start planning for your future instead."

Lily looked at him, completely shocked that he would say such a thing to her. "Are you trying to be funny Uncle Stefan?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I am having a crisis!" she insisted.

Stefan quickly composed himself, but he was about ready to burst. He really wished that Elena were there to see this. "No, I'm not trying to be funny, Lil. I'm just offering you advice. But maybe you have to figure out how to handle this on your own."

Lily sighed. "You're right" she sighed. Then she smiled and her eyes lit up and Stefan knew he was done for. Whatever plan she had, she had already developed it before their ice cream date. And whatever plan it was, it was going to involve him. "What if I put all the money that Daddy gives me into my savings account and you can give me money to buy what I want?" she suggested. It was a win-win situation. For her, anyways.

Stefan smiled. "How would that be teaching you responsibility, then?" he asked curiously.

"Ummm …" she said, placing her finger on her lip as she thought about it. "I would be responsible by … by asking you for the money so I could go buy stuff" she said, her eyes lightening up at her answer.

She had him there. "You have been thinking pretty hard about this, haven't you?" he asked her.

Lily nodded. "Elena told me about the savings account at her bank and I want one too, just like her. But I also want new purses and shoes and stuff" she explained.

"Elena did, did she?" he asked. Lily nodded again. He knew about Elena's savings account. He had offered to contribute to it, but she never let him. "Well, I think a savings account is a great idea. How about I help you set it up and we can work out a deal where you can still buy things and save up your money?" he suggested.

She looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of a deal?" she asked, raising a wary eyebrow at him.

Stefan smiled. "Oh, I don't know. Money for good grades? Good behavior?" he suggested.

Lily thought about that. "How about you just give me money because I'm cute and you love me?" she said, making her own suggestion for him.

Stefan sighed. "You're not going to let me say no, are you?" Stefan asked her.

"Nope" she said, crawling down out of her seat and coming to sit with him. "I love you" she said sweetly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you too" he told her, smiling at the fact that a 7-year old just made a completely unfair deal with him. And he had let her.

"Can I have $132.00 for a new purse?" she asked, keeping her arms around his neck.

Stefan abruptly pulled her away from him. "Your dad gives you that much money for a new purse whenever you want?" he asked in disbelief.

"No. Mommy does. But now that her and Daddy are always kissing, she doesn't give me everything I want no more" Lily explained with a hint of irritancy in her voice. "So, can I have it?" she asked.

"I'll think about it" he grumbled. "Finish your ice cream" he said, setting her down. Lily went back to her seat, picked up her spoon, and smiled adoringly at him. They both new Stefan was going to buy her the purse.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena finished with her phone calls and e-mails and decided to go for a walk since Stefan wasn't home yet. It was still beautiful out, but she knew that the dark winter days were just around the corner. Though, that just meant sipping hot chocolate and sitting with Stefan by the fire. The thought made her smile.

She came up to the clearing and saw the barn and the horses grazing, but she decided to go back towards the woods along a path that Stefan had taken her riding on before. The orange, brown, and yellow leaves decorated the ground. Maybe she could convince Stefan to take her riding when he got home. She continued walking, admiring the view.

A slow figure moving onto the path stopped her dead in her tracks though. This was private property. No one else should have been there. The figure, a man, she decided, was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black hoodie. He had the hood up and his face tilted down so she couldn't see his face. Instinctively, she stepped back.

Then, he looked up at her, slowly, as if he knew she was waiting for him to. Her breath caught in her throat and a gasping sound came out in place of any words. He just stared at her. "No" she whispered, taking another step back. Fear, adrenaline. It all coursed through her body. She took three more steps back before she took off running back for the house. As fast as she was running, it still crossed her mind that he might catch up to her.

When she almost made it to the clearing, she stopped abruptly and looked behind her. No one was there. The only thing she could hear was her loud breathing. She scanned the direction she had come from. Still nothing. It wasn't possible. She had to have imagined it. Had to. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

But she wasn't going to stick around and find out. She turned quickly to run back to the house, but as she took a step forward, her shoe caught on a tree root, sending her forward. The last thing she remembered as her head smacked against the hard ground, was silently uttering his name. "Derrick."

Then, everything went dark.

**A/N: So? Thoughts? Do I have your interest still? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: There is a bit of a dream/flashback in this update, which I thought would be interesting to include. Thank you all for the amazing reviews you keep giving me! Yes, Lily is a bit spoiled. Just the way should be though :D**

**As for Derrick. Is he dead or isn't he? Did she see him or didn't she? Hmmm …**

**Please enjoy this update and let me know what you think!**

"I'm gonna go see the horsies!" Lily said excitedly as soon as she hopped out of Stefan's car.

"Hold on. I'm going to let Elena know we're back and then I'll go with you" Stefan said, locking his car and heading for the house. He never liked to let her go back there by herself.

Lily took off skipping toward the path, on a mission to see the horses and feed them the gummy worms that she had picked out of her ice cream and stuck in her pocket earlier. The rain began to make an appearance, though it was rare for this time of the year. Lily didn't seem to mind though. It provided some relief to the sweltering heat that the day had brought.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. That's what she felt when she woke up. It was the roof again, leaking. But he wouldn't put in a request for maintenance to come and look at it. Even when she had asked, he always had the same answer for her. No. Because she didn't deserve the luxury of having a roof that didn't leak. She wasn't worth the time and effort it would take to fix it. If only she could be more deserving. But she wasn't. And that's why no one else would want her. Ever._

_He was passed out again as she slowly, painfully pulled herself to sit up on the floor. On the couch, a beer bottle hanging out of his hand. Run. That's what her heart was screaming at her as it beat relentlessly against her chest from the memory of what he had done to her. It hadn't been that bad this time. She had passed out quickly from the blows. She was lucky._

_There was a faint knocking sound at the door. She looked that way. No one ever knocked on her door. She looked back at Derrick who was still passed out, the knocking not bothering him at all. Slowly, and still painfully, she made her way through the rundown apartment to answer the door. On the other side of it was the most beautiful little girl she had ever seen. Brown eyes, long brown curls. Lily._

_A choked gasp escaped her. She wanted to scream at Lily to run, to get away from there. But nothing came out. Instead, the little girl stood still, her worried eyes locking with hers. No. She had to do something. She had to get Lily out of there. _

A sharp, high-pitched screech sounded through the air, making Elena jump. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling her head resting on the ground. A sharp pain pulsated through the right side of her head. Her vision was blurry, but she could see someone running towards her. "Aunt Elena?" Lily asked, tears streaming down her face as she came closer to Elena. "Elena?" she asked, stopping a few feet from her.

Elena rolled over – the only move she could make with her whole body – and clutched her head. She looked up at the gray sky, trying to put herself in place. What had happened? Why was she dreaming about her old apartment? The rundown one with a leaky roof? A large raindrop fell on her forehead suddenly and rolled all the way down to her cheek. When had it started to rain?

Then, as if everything hit her at once, she gasped. Derrick. He was out there. She had seen him, and ran as fast as she could. But why was she laying on the ground? Why did her head hurt? Had he hit her? "Elena?" Lily's frightened voice asked again, though she remained where she was.

Elena's head snapped in the direction of Lily. No. Lily was in danger if Derrick was out there with them. "Run" Elena's voice rasped. Lily looked at her, not blinking. "Run, Lily. Get out of here!" Elena yelled at her, her voice still raspy but with more power behind it.

Lily hesitated. "You're bleeding" she cried, wanting to help but not knowing how.

Elena brought her hand away from her head and saw it covered with blood. She swallowed the panic that threatened to come out in a horrified gasp. Lily's safety was more important now, though. "Go back to the house Lily" she said, her voice shaky. Lily didn't move. "NOW!" Elena yelled sharply at her. It made Lily jump, but it had her attention. Lily turned and ran as fast as her little feet would carry her.

Elena tried to sit up and was hit with a wave of dizziness. She looked around her and the trees in the background seemed to spin. But there was no sign of Derrick. Maybe he was hiding, waiting to grab her. Or maybe he had followed Lily back to the house. No. Elena slowly began to crawl, small steps at a time, before she had to stop and rest. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Five minutes – maybe – and she could hear shouting from up ahead. She couldn't really see who it was, but she could hear him. Tears clouded her eyes as she sat where she was, waiting. He was coming for her. Like he always would. "Elena!" he yelled and in a second, he was kneeling down beside her, holding her face and examining her. Her eyes, her breathing, her head. "What happened?" he asked, concern slipping out in his voice without an ounce of restraint.

Her tears overtook her as she grabbed on to him, needing the reassurance that he was really there. "He's here" she cried, becoming hysterical. It only made her head hurt more, but she couldn't help it. "He's out there Stefan."

"Who's out there?' Stefan asked, greatly confused. He grabbed her chin and checked her face. Although she was hysterical, she seemed in her right mind.

"Derr … rrick" she stuttered, her body beginning to shake.

She was in shock. "Derrick is dead, Elena. You know that" Stefan said, bringing her close and kissing a patch of hair not covered in blood. "Come on. Let's go to the hospital" he told her, picking her up with ease and beginning to walk quickly back to the house. He did notice himself scanning the area a little more now, but it was pointless. Derrick was dead. He had been there. He had received the news.

Elena was in the car minutes later, as was Lily who was still crying frantically. Stefan's heart had felt as though it dropped out of his chest when Lily had come busting through his front door in hysterics. She had barely been able to get a word out before Stefan was telling her to stay put and running out the door.

"Lily, it's okay kiddo" Stefan said, trying to convince himself of this too as he turned onto another street. She was still crying and taking gasping breathes in her frantic moments.

"I'm okay, Lily" Elena said, reaching her hand back and grabbing Lily's. Her other hand was holding a cloth to her head to control the bleeding. "I just bumped my head. Shhh. I didn't mean to scare you" she said, as calmly as she could. Stefan's hand was placed securely just above Elena's knee as he drove.

"I … want … Daddy …" she said, gasping in between each word.

Elena's heart throbbed with pain just from hearing Lily. "Let's swing by her house and drop her off" Elena said, turning to look at Stefan.

He shook his head no. "You need to be at the hospital now" he informed her. She could tell he was on autopilot. "Katherine is meeting us there" he added.

Elena squeezed Lily's hand again as Stefan drove at an insane speed toward the hospital. "Slow down or we'll all be dead" she said under her breath, though she was sure that he had heard her because he did slow down.

Once Stefan had parked, Elena was already out of her door and unbuckling Lily from her booster seat. "Elena, stop. I've got it" Stefan said, running to the other side of the car. Elena ignored him as she took Lily's hand and started walking toward the entrance of the hosptial. "Elena!" Stefan called, rushing to her side.

"I'm fine" Elena said, brushing his hand off of her. "I'm fine." He stopped momentarily, a pained look on his face, but Elena ignored it. She had to.

She was admitted right away and taken back to be examined. Tests showed no major brain injury, but her cut was cleaned up and stitched. She hadn't wanted anyone back there with her, much to Stefan's disapproval. She just couldn't take him hovering.

The door opening startled her. She had been expecting the nurse with her discharge papers. "She wanted to see you" Katherine's voice echoed through the room. "You know, make sure you were still alive and kicking" she added with a hint of a sneer. Lily appeared from behind Katherine, her tears ceased but huge stains all down her cheeks. "At least she wasn't wearing mascara" Katherine added.

Elena's lips pressed into a hard line. You had to be in a special kind of mood to deal with Katherine. She was in no mood for her though. "I'm okay, Lily, really" Elena said, forcing a smile. To be honest, she was waiting for Derrick to come through that door to collect her like he did on many occasions.

Lily slowly made her way to Elena's bed, climbing up on the chair and into bed with Elena. She sat completely still and examined the white bandage over Elena's head. "You scared me" Lily whispered. "And you yelled at me" she added, whispering again.

Elena felt like she wanted to cry now, but she wouldn't. Not with Katherine in the room. "I'm so sorry" Elena said, pulling Lily into a close embrace. "I was just scared too. I didn't mean to yell at you" she added. "Forgive me?" she asked, pulling away and tucking a few strands of Lily's hair behind her ear.

Lily nodded just as the door opened again. Damon. "Oh thank God" he said, seeing that Elena was alive and well. Katherine glowered at him. "You're okay?" he asked.

"She's breathing, isn't she?" Katherine spat with annoyance. Why did Elena get all the attention all of a sudden? Damon glared right back at her.

"I'm okay" she assured him.

He nodded. "Katherine, take Lily down to get some ice cream. I need to talk to Elena for a minute" he stated. Elena couldn't help but notice the intense look of horror on Katherine's face, but she did as he had said. "Go with your mom" Damon said.

"But …" Lily began to protest.

"No buts. Go. You can stop by and see Elena tomorrow" he said, his tone telling her that he was in no mood for her to argue tonight.

"I love you. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Elena asked her. Lily nodded, putting her arms around Elena. When Lily hopped off of her bed, Elena realized how nervous she was about what Damon had to talk to her about.

When the door closed behind them, Damon came and sat down in the chair next to Elena's bed. "Stefan told me you said you saw Derrick. On the property" he stated, cutting to the chase.

Elena nodded. "I did. I know I did" she told him, her eyes locking with his.

Damon looked at her in that pitying way that so many people had looked at her before. "He's dead, Elena" Damon told her without so much as blinking.

Elena had to look away from him. He didn't believe her, either. "I know what I saw" she told him.

"You also hit your head pretty hard" Damon reminded her. That wasn't it though. She knew she had seen Derrick before she hit her head.

"Yeah, I guess" Elena said listlessly. She didn't believe that for one second, but she also didn't want to sit in this room with Damon much longer.

"Is there anything I can do? Anything you need?" he asked, attempting to be helpful because it was awkward just sitting there, watching her look so lost. Elena shook her head no. "Okay. I'm glad you're okay" he said, watching her for a moment and then getting up and leaving the room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan and Elena hadn't talked the whole way home. Stefan had gone straight into his office and shut the door. Elena had gone upstairs to change. When Stefan did enter their bedroom twenty minutes later, he kicked off his shorts and shirt and grabbed a pair of sweats. Elena was in the adjoining bathroom, staring at her bandage.

Stefan's sudden reflection in the mirror scared her. Her heart rate increased a little and she jumped slightly. He didn't seem to notice. Or he didn't want to. His arms wrapped around her and he kissed her shoulder. "How are you feeling?" he asked, looking into the mirror so he could see her eyes.

"Fine" she answered, dropping her gaze and fiddling with the ridiculously expensive watch Stefan had given her. Derrick had given her nice things too. Before he started beating the shit out of her.

Stefan gently pulled on her arm, bringing her around to face him. He cupped her face and gently ran his thumb along the end of the bandage, examining her carefully. "You really scared me today" he said, his voice low and quiet. She didn't know what to say to that, so she didn't say anything. "I love you" he said, placing a feather light kiss on her forehead. He rested his lips there for a moment, closed his eyes, and said a silent, thankful prayer that she was okay.

"You think I'm crazy" she said quietly. Stefan stepped back slightly and looked down at her. "About seeing Derrick. You don't believe me" she told him, a look of sadness washing over her face.

"He's gone, Elena. It's over. You get to move on. You get to be happy. With me" he said, holding her arms just above her elbows and looking directly into her eyes.

A silent tear slipped down her cheek, one she hadn't meant to let escape. "I'm glad you think it's that easy for me" she said. Her voice was filled with anger, but her tone was soft. She stepped away from him, bumping into the counter as she did. He let his arms drop to his sides and looked at her, defeated. "I know what I saw, Stefan. I wish you believed me" she said, walking past him.

"Elena" he said, grabbing her waist and stopping her. "If it were possible, I would believe you" he told her. "But he's dead."

Elena's eyes seemed to ice over at his words. "Then maybe I saw his ghost, and I truly am f*cked up beyond repair" she said bitterly. She stepped away from him again, and his face showed that he was overcome by hurt. "I'm sleeping down the hall tonight" she added, not being able to be near him one more second. Despite how angry she was at him, she was scared too. Scared that she was right. That Derrick was alive. And scared that she was wrong, too. And that she was seeing things. That she would never be able to escape Derrick. Ever.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan tightened the cinch on Ben, flipping the stirrup back over. He needed to go for a ride and clear his head. He couldn't get last night off of his mind. Maybe it was wrong of him to think that Elena was going to have a happier future. Maybe her past wasn't going to go away just because he wanted it to.

"We'd like to tag along" came Katherine's voice. Stefan turned around and saw both she and Lily in a pair of jeans and boots.

It actually improved his mood to see them standing there. "Yeah Uncle Stefan. We wanna go too!" Lily said, running up and grabbing the reigns out of his hand. He bent down and gave her a big kiss on her cheek. He was actually really, really happy to see her. "Oh gross!" she said in disgust, wiping the kiss off of her cheek.

Stefan looked up to see Katherine smiling. A genuine smile that he had only seen a few times when he was with her. "Come on" he said, nodding towards the horse. He gave Katherine a leg up and once she was settled, he lifted Lily up and put her in front of Katherine. "You remember how to ride?" he asked, a small grin on his face.

Katherine kicked him with her boot, right into his rib. He winced, though he was laughing. "Go get your other horse. We don't have all day" she said, moving the horse forward out of the barn.

"Yeah Uncle Stefan. We don't have all day!" Lily called back, repeating her mother. Katherine looked back and gave him a knowing smile. She was so proud of her daughter sometimes.

Stefan quickly got Cash saddled up and out of the barn. He looked back towards the house, thinking about Elena. She was asleep when he came outside. But she didn't want to talk to him anyways.

They set out at a leisurely trot until the trail narrowed down and they decided to walk the horses. "You doing okay?" Katherine asked, bringing him out of his thoughts abruptly.

He looked over at her. "I guess" he replied.

"You know" she said, looking down at Lily, mindful that she was there with them. "If you ever want to talk or anything …" she trailed off.

"You'd be willing to talk about Elena?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Well, I didn't say I'd like it. But I'd do it" she said. "I owe you that, at least" she added.

"That's not nice to talk about Elena when she's not here" Lily's voice warned. Stefan and Katherine both looked at each other and held back a laugh.

"Is that what your teacher said?" Stefan asked, turning off on another trail. Lily nodded.

"Yeah, well you know what I think about your teacher" Katherine commented, almost venomously.

"Uh huh" Lily said. "That's she's an overinvolved prude who has no fashion sense" Lily said, repeated her mother's words exactly. The she giggled.

"Jeez Katherine!" Stefan scolded, though he was laughing. Katherine rolled her eyes again.

Lily looked over at her uncle and frowned. He was really happy right now. And he was usually only happy when Elena was with him. "Where's Elena?" Lily asked.

Stefan stopped laughing almost immediately. "She's resting" Stefan said, a surge of guilt rushing through his mind. He should have been back at the house with her, making sure she didn't need anything.

Katherine remained quiet, but Stefan could tell that she wanted to say something. "Oh" Lily said.

"I should get back and check on her actually" Stefan said, stopping his horse.

"Can we race back?" Lily asked.

"Yes" Katherine said, turning their horse and kicking him. The horse took off, leaving Stefan.

But he just didn't want to race. He felt like crap. Again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan walked upstairs after getting the horses settled. He told Lily that Elena wasn't up for visitors today, which had made her cry, but Katherine promised her a trip to the zoo and all was forgotten. He checked the room Elena had stayed in, but the bed was made and the room was empty. He walked down to their bedroom and found Elena sitting on their bed. Her hair was brushed, but she had no makeup on. "Hey" he said, ready to ask her how she was.

"Did you have a fun ride, with Katherine?" she asked. The bitterness was evident.

Stefan sighed. "Lily went too" he reminded her.

Elena nodded. She looked so distant. So in pain. "Right" she replied. "Perfect little family, aren't you three?" she asked.

"What?" Stefan asked, a bit shocked that she would say such a thing. "You know that's not true" he added, a bit frustrated.

Elena smiled to herself, mostly. "Well, you have the crazy wife. You might as well have the ex-girlfriend on the side" she added.

Stefan felt like he had been punched. "I don't even know what to say to you, when you say things like that" he told her. He turned and left the room, afraid of what he might say if things escalated.

Elena remained where she was, sitting on their bed. She had no energy to go after him. To apologize or to continue accusing him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Whew. This was hard to write. Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! This story is slowly building finally :D**

Stefan stared at his blank computer screen for hours, having no energy to work. He hated the way he had left things with Elena. He should have been more understanding. Stood there and took whatever she said to him and let it go.

Sighing, he got up from his desk and went back upstairs. Elena was still in their room, sitting in the window and staring outside into the dark. Her whole body was tense. Her eyes were fixated on whatever it was she was staring at. "He bought me pretty things too, in the beginning" her voice said suddenly, eerily quiet, like she was in some sort of trance. But she wasn't. She was just so focused on the darkness just outside the window.

If it were possible for his heart to tear achingly slow inside of his chest, he would have told anyone that it was happening right then. Stefan kicked his boots off and slowly walked towards her. He lifted her forward slightly and sat behind her, bringing her to rest against him as he too stared out into the darkness. "Tell me more, about what he did" Stefan said, equally as quiet before he placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. Maybe that's what she needed. To talk about her past. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Her tension remained, but she didn't try and move. "Tell me" he encouraged, whispering in her ear before resting his head against hers.

He heard her breathe in and then out slowly. "When he met me, he told me I had the prettiest smile he had ever seen" she said. Stefan nodded against her, letting her know that he was still there with her, listening. "He said that I looked sad though, and I told him I was. He said he promised he would take all my sadness away" she remembered. "And then he kissed me. And I thought I was in love."

Stefan felt the warm tear that landed on his arm. "I'm sorry" Stefan whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

"I think about him. I have nightmares about him, about what he did to me. And I can't make it stop. Any of it" she told him regretfully.

"Why haven't you told me this?" he asked her. It was news to him. He hadn't seen her wake up all that often from nightmares. She had never mentioned that she was thinking about Derrick.

"I didn't want to worry you" Elena said.

Stefan nodded. "I know you don't like to worry me. But I worry about you. I don't want you to think about him, Elena. To wake up, afraid that he's still a part of your life" he said softly. "I love you. Tell me what I can do to help you?" he asked. Finally, she had realized that she hadn't actually seen Derrick.

Elena turned slowly so she could look at him, into his eyes. She wanted to give him an answer. "Nothing. There's nothing you can do" Elena said. And just like that, Stefan could see her retreating further into her darkness. The darkness that he had so easily assumed was gone. "I'm tired, Stefan" she said, so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.

He looked at her, really looked at her, but decided that sleep was probably the best thing for her right now. "Okay" he said, kissing her forehead. He steadied her as she got up and held his breath to see where she was going to sleep. He let it out when he watched her climb into their bed. She tucked herself into the blankets and closed her eyes. He wondered if she would have a nightmare that night too.

Stefan peeled his shirt off and dropped his jeans on the floor, leaving them. Usually, Elena would nag him about it, but she didn't today. Stefan climbed into bed and turned the lamp off. He was surprised that she snuggled up closer to him. Elena rested her head on his chest. "I'm sorry about what I said … about you and Katherine" she whispered. "It was horrible of me to say. You didn't deserve that" she added.

Stefan kissed the top of her head, breathing in a sigh of relief. "You know that I would never do that to you, right?" he asked.

"Sleep around on me?" Elena asked quietly. She nodded. Yeah, she knew that. Well, she wanted to know that.

"That's a given" Stefan said, placing his arms around her, scooting her even closer to him. "I could never fall in love with someone else. I could never think about being with anyone else" he said, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way" he added.

There was a short pause and Stefan could tell she was thinking. "I … I don't know why I feel like this" she whispered. He could feel the exhale of her breath against his chest.

"Like what?" he asked, shifting just slightly so he could face her.

Elena laughed quietly. "Crazy" she answered. "I feel like I'm going crazy" she said, her voice falling as she did. Because the last thing she wanted was for him to think she was crazy.

"You're not going crazy" he said, his voice both steady and reassuring. "We'll figure this out. Together" he whispered, kissing her ear. "I love you" he said, kissing her neck once before closing his eyes and sighing. He was so worried, yet so tired.

"Goodnight" she whispered. She listened to him breathing against her neck for the better part of an hour before letting her own eyes close. Having him that close to her was reassuring. But it wouldn't matter. She would still dream of someone else.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He had wanted to surprise her. After the last few days, which had been really rough on her, he wanted to see her smile again. So, he had been downstairs all morning making breakfast. Everything from waffles to muffins and bacon to hash browns. She had still been sleeping when he got up, but he had shaken her awake slightly and told her he was going downstairs and he would be back. Elena had simply mumbled something before going back to sleep.

But since breakfast was done, he was going upstairs to get her. Too much food to bring up to her he decided. When he got to their room, she was walking towards her dresser. She looked at him briefly, but kept walking. He was determined to put her in a better mood. "Hey" he said, his smile evident as he walked casually over to her. Elena slipped a hooded sweatshirt on and mumbled a hello back. "I have a surprise for you" he said, turning her slightly to face him before pushing her up against the wall just behind her.

His eyes were full of excitement, while hers were hollow as she stared at him. "What?" she asked, her voice weak.

He was sort of thrown off by this. Normally, she would have been kissing him by now. But on this rare occasion, he wasn't sure if he should kiss her. "I made you breakfast downstairs" he said, the lower half of his body pressed against hers. He held her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles.

She blinked a few times before nodding. "Okay" she said.

Okay? He was hoping for a little more than that. A little more excitement than that. Stefan leaned in slowly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Breakfast can wait, I suppose" he said, his voice low and full of want and need.

Elena closed her eyes as soon as his lips landed on hers. She loved when he kissed her. She normally could not get enough of him and his kisses. But for some reason, she felt herself slipping out from under his hold. "I'm sorry" she said, looking down at the floor to avoid his gaze.

Stefan stared at her, somewhat confused on what had just happened. And now, she wouldn't even look at him. "Elena" he said, grabbing her chin lightly to make her look up at him.

"I'm sorry" she said again, stepping away from him again.

"Come have breakfast" he said, changing course.

"I'm not hungry" she said quietly, still looking anywhere but at him. "Can I go to the library?" she asked.

He felt like someone had kicked him. She felt like she needed to ask his permission to go out. She wasn't looking at him. And she had been withdrawing since she said that she saw Derrick. He had told himself that things would get better, but things were getting worse. "Hey" he said, reaching his hand up to touch her face. She flinched at the mere simple act of him raising his hand.

And then it hit him. She was reverting back to the ways that she had to behave when she was with Derrick. To protect herself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Damon watched as Stefan stirred his coffee round and round, watching it carefully. "Something on your mind, Brother?" he asked, sipping his own coffee.

Stefan looked up at his brother, then he looked back down at his coffee. "I'm losing her" he said, his voice full of pain and fear, things that he normally didn't let Damon see.

"What?" Damon asked, more than slightly confused.

"Elena. I'm losing her" Stefan said, stirring his coffee the opposite direction now.

"Because she's seeing things?" Damon asked.

"I think that's part of it" Stefan answered. "But it's more than that. She's acting different. She's jumpy and withdrawn. For God sakes, she asked permission to go to the library this morning" he said, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "She's acting like she's living her life with Derrick again. It's heartbreaking."

"Is she having any nightmares?" Damon asked curiously.

"Yeah, actually" Stefan said. "Why, what are you saying?" he asked, eyeing his brother suspiciously.

Damon shrugged. "I don't know. But maybe she should see someone, like, a professional" he suggested.

"You think she needs therapy?" Stefan asked. He had never really thought about it.

"I think it wouldn't hurt to think about it" Damon shrugged. He checked his watch. "Lily's program starts in 30 minutes" Damon added, tossing a few bills on the table. "Is Elena meeting us there?" he asked.

Stefan checked his watch. "Yeah, I think so" he said, unsure of what Elena's plans were for that afternoon. It was going to break Lily's heart if Elena didn't show up. Stefan took out his phone and called Elena as he and Damon walked to their cars. She wasn't picking up. "Hey, it's me. I just wanted to check if you were still coming to Lily's program. It starts in 30 minutes. I'll save you a seat. Love you" he said, hanging up.

When Stefan got to the school, Elena was already there, waiting by the door. He felt relieved. She looked tired. "Hi" she said, her voice nervous, like she wasn't sure how to talk to him anymore. "Katherine and Damon are saving our seats."

"You look beautiful" Stefan said, taking a good look at her. "I mean, you always do, but …" he said, watching her closely.

She held his gaze for a moment before looking down at her feet nervously. "Thank you" she said.

Stefan grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. "Let's go in and see our little pumpkin" he smiled, pulling her to him and wrapping his arm around her as they walked inside. She was a bit stiff and rigid in his embrace, but she never pulled away. Elena led the way down the aisle and took a seat next to Damon in the third row. Damon greeted her before eyeing Stefan who just shook his head sadly. The lights dimmed and the director of the program appeared on stage to welcome everyone.

Lily was a pumpkin for the Fall Festival program. Much to Katherine's dismay, she was dressed in a large round orange fleece costume with a green bow in her hair. It was supposed to be a green hat, but Katherine had put her foot down and refused. But nonetheless, Lily was flawless. She nailed her lines and even had the audience laughing. Stefan and her parents were glued to the performance, but Elena was distracted.

It was really dark in there. There were flashes from cameras and sometimes a lot of noise if everyone was laughing. She felt like it was too stuffy in there. Like she couldn't breathe. Once Lily had gone off stage, Elena leaned over to Stefan. "I'm going to the restroom" she whispered.

"I'll go with you" he offered, beginning to stand.

Elena grabbed his arm and shook her head. "I'll be fine. You stay just in case Lily comes back on" she said, carefully getting up and climbing over him to get out. She walked quickly, glancing from side to side at all the people sitting in the auditorium.

Once she was out of the room, she took in a big breath and released it slowly. She felt panicky. She felt like someone was following her. Watching her. She scanned the hallway briefly and saw no one. Quickly, she made her way to the restroom. Elena splashed some water on her face, willing herself to stop feeling so on edge. It was a horrible feeling.

Once she was out of the restroom, she checked her phone. A text from Stefan asking if she was okay. She set to work on replying to him when she noticed someone standing outside, looking in through the glass door. Elena narrowed her eyes to see who it was.

He was wearing a dark blue hoodie and dark blue jeans. He lifted his arm and waved at her, smiling at her. Derrick.

Her heart stopped. At least, it felt like it did. A wave of dizziness came over her, slowing everything down for her. She felt like she was in one of her nightmares, trying to run, but her feet were stuck to the ground.

But somehow, she got her feet moving and she spun around, running towards the opposite end of the hallway. Her breathing was heavy as she ran, ran right into someone. She gasped, desperately trying to get away. "Elena?" Damon asked, holding onto her arms. He took in her panicked state with alarm. He hadn't expected to walk out of the bathroom to find his brother's wife looking like she was the next victim of some horror movie. "What's wrong?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Let go" she breathed quickly, testing his hold on her. He wasn't letting go. "Please let go" she pleaded as tears escaped from her. She turned around slightly to see if Derrick was behind her. He wasn't.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked again.

Elena's eyes shot up to look at his. They were wide. Her heart was racing now. She was pale. "Derrick" she said quickly. "He's here. I saw him Damon. He's waiting for me" she said, bursting into more tears.

Damon looked at her, not with alarm now, but with sympathy. "Where?" he asked calmly.

Elena turned around and pointed to the doors at the other end of the hall. "He was standing outside, watching me" she said, giving up on stopping her tears. It was no use. "He's here Damon. He's here to hurt me for leaving!" she said, her voice full of so much pain and fear that he really didn't know what to say to her. There was no way Derrick was standing out there, but the scary thing was that she believed it.

"You're safe now" was all he could say, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her. She nearly collapsed into his embrace, so relieved to have someone there with her. "Shhh" he soothed, holding her close. They must have stood there for five minutes or so.

He sighed with relief when he saw Stefan walk out of the auditorium, look their way, and then run to them. "What happened?" Stefan asked, seeing his wife upset and his brother holding her. He had to force his jealous tendencies into the back of his mind, quickly. "Hey, come here" he said, grabbing Elena's arms and turning her to face him.

She was still crying when she collapsed into him instead. "She … saw Derrick standing outside" Damon answered. "She ran right into me, trying to get away."

"I saw him Stefan" she cried into his shirt. "He's after me. He promised me he would kill me if I ever left him" she said, her crying intensifying.

She was shaking. And it broke his heart. He kissed the top of her head. "Let's go home" he whispered in her ear.

Her head flew up upon hearing this. "He's out there Stefan" she said, her eyes clouded with tears still. Filled with fear.

"I'll walk with you guys" Damon offered, trying to relieve any distress that she was having.

"Yeah, Damon will walk out with us" Stefan said reassuringly, placing strands of hair behind her ears. "Come on" he said, tucking her under his arm.

When they were outside, Elena's grip on Stefan tightened as her eyes darted all around them, waiting for Derrick to appear.

Damon and Stefan looked around too, though both knew that Derrick wasn't there. Stefan got Elena into the car and exchanged a concerned look with Damon before getting in himself and driving off.

Elena hadn't stopped crying, though she was calming down a bit. Her eyes were glued to the front window as she breathed in and out heavily. Stefan grabbed her hand, held it the entire way home, even though all he wanted to do was pull over and cry too. The love of his life was falling apart before him. The worst part was, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He was helpless.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: To the lovely readers, thank you so much! I am so happy that you look forward to my updates and even ask me when I will be updating. I actually pencil time into my planner for writing now :D**

**As for this story, I had no idea what I was going to write about when I started. Then I had an idea and now I changed the entire course of it within the last five minutes. I love these characters though, so I am excited to see where it goes!**

Stefan watched as Elena checked and locked all 56 windows in the Boarding House. It was heartbreaking to watch her so determined to keep herself safe when it was not necessary at all. But Stefan let her because he knew that if he tried to stop her, it would only cause her more distress.

"I think that's all of them" Elena said, tugging on the last window to make sure it was locked tightly. "Did you lock the doors?" she asked Stefan. He nodded grimly. "I better double check" she said, attempting to walk past him.

But Stefan stopped her. He couldn't let her carry on any longer. "I checked them" he told her, rubbing her arms as he did. "Let's go to bed."

Elena shook her head. "I'm not tired" she told him.

"Elena" Stefan said, his voice exhausted. "You have to sleep."

"I said I'm not tired!" she snapped, her voice raised to a level that Stefan had not heard in a long time. He looked at her for a long moment, unsure of what to do. "Don't look at me like that" she said, on the brink of tears now. "Just … don't" she said, backing away from him slowly. She turned and walked out of the laundry room. To where, Stefan didn't know.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan stared at his computer screen early the next morning. Elena had stayed up all night on the couch, watching the front door. She looked like she would fall asleep at any moment, but he knew she was fighting it. He had to do something. He just couldn't sit around and wait for her to destroy herself. To destroy them. He scrolled down the page, looking at well-known therapists in the area.

He hated this. He hated that he was looking up therapists for his wife when the weekend before, they were smiling and laughing on a camping trip. It wasn't fair.

Her tired, exhausted figure made a presence, casting a shadow over the dimly lit room. He looked up, surprised to see her. "Hey" he said softly, his tone as far from threatening as he could make it.

She stared at him impassively and he wasn't sure if she was going to say anything or not. But she did. "I'm going to California" she announced. Before he could protest, she continued. "To see Jeremy and Bonnie for a few days, maybe a week" she added. When Stefan looked into her eyes, he saw nothing.

"No" he said, surprising both himself and her. He wasn't the type to tell Elena no. And the last thing that he wanted to do was keep Elena from seeing her family. But he held this deep fear that if she went to California, she wouldn't come back. She would want to stay there. She would probably feel safer, being further away. Maybe she wanted to get away from him, too.

Elena seemed to study him for a minute but then she shook her head. "You can't stop me" she finally said.

He didn't want to have to stop her. "I'll go with you" he said instead, wanting to halt this argument before it went far beyond what they could handle right now.

"I don't want you to go with me" she said, again, her gaze impassive. "Jeremy knows I'm coming. I've already booked my ticket. I leave tomorrow" she said, blinking once before turning and leaving his office.

Stefan stood up abruptly and followed her. "Elena" he said as he followed her toward the stairs.

Elena whipped around to face him, her face finally showing an emotion. Anger. "I used my money, not yours" she stated, as if that was the real argument at hand.

"Our money" he corrected. "And the money has nothing to do with this" he pointed out. "I don't think you should be going off on your own right now" he said, as gently as possible.

"Why?" she asked, a challenging smirk appearing. "Are you afraid I might see things again and panic?" she asked. "Or, are you afraid that I'm right? That Derrick is alive and he will come after me?" she asked again, almost as if she were laughing at him now.

He couldn't take this any longer. "I want you to see a therapist" he stated.

Now she really laughed at him. "You want me to see a therapist?" she asked, taking a step back from him. "My ex is trying to come after me and you think I need to see a therapist? Maybe it is you who needs to see a therapist" she spit at him venomously.

"Stop it!" he said, raising his voice. "Derrick is dead! He's gone and I am not going to stand by and let you torture yourself or destroy us!" he said angrily. So angrily, that he didn't notice how loud he was speaking.

She took another step away from him, this time, looking frightened and unsure. Shit. He hadn't met to scare her. "You don't know, because you were never there" she said, her voice full of anger, but quiet nonetheless. "Damon may not believe me, but at least he was there when I needed someone!" she shouted at him, changing her tone on him quickly.

It was then that Stefan noticed tears spring from her eyes. It was then when Stefan momentarily relived an unbearable moment from his past, the one where Damon had been there for Katherine while he was away at school. It was then, that he had lost Katherine. He couldn't lose Elena too. Not to anyone. Especially, not to herself.

Elena's breathing calmed slightly as she stared at him. Although he was looking at her, he was deep in thought. She could tell that her words had stung. She could tell that he was both angry and hurt. "Just get it over with" she said quietly. She caught his questioning, lost gaze and elaborated for him. "Hit me. I deserve it" she stated. The tears started to roll down her cheeks once more as she waited for what she expected to hurt. She usually tried not to cry, but sometimes she couldn't help it.

Stefan felt his whole world go dark and numb. The thought of hitting her repulsed him. He'd never thought about it, never imagined what it would be like to take his frustrations out on her. Yet here she was, waiting expectantly. It was too much for him.

His breaking point was here. Now.

A choked sob escaped him as he looked at her with so much pain that even she couldn't ignore the way he was feeling. He didn't cry in front of many people. He didn't have many reasons to cry anyway. But right now, staring at her, he couldn't do anything but cry with her.

Slowly, he approached her. He had to. As she backed away from him warily, he reached out and caught her arm, ignoring the fact that she was beginning to struggle in his grasp. Forcefully, he pulled her towards him, into his arms, and held her so tight until he was sure she couldn't run away from him. "Every day I wish that I had met you first. So you wouldn't have had to go through so much pain or be so scared. And I realize now that you're still hurting, even though you're safe. But I need to fix your pain, Elena. I need to make it go away because I can't watch you like this. I can't see you hurt so badly" he whispered as his tears fell onto her bare shoulder. "You don't deserve to feel like this. You are too beautiful, too smart, too loving to feel the way you do. Please let me help you. Please, go and talk to the therapist. I'll go with you, I'll do whatever you need me to do. Please" he said, his tone desperate and his tears present.

Elena listened to him, her body rigid within his own. Slowly, she lifted her head, indicating that she wanted some space so she could look up at him. Reluctantly, he let go of her some, but not much. "I'm sorry" she said, her eyes still soaked with tears. Tears he wanted to kiss away. "I didn't realize I was such a burden" she added numbly. His heart stopped. That wasn't what he had meant. "You don't deserve me" she whispered, reaching up to wipe away a few of his tears.

"You are not a burden" he said, his voice cracking as he said it. He couldn't be upset with her for saying that. Not when she was in this state – reverting back to her old ways which helped her to cope. "I just love you so much" he whispered back, holding her face in his hands.

"I want to go to California" she whispered.

His heart still hurt upon hearing her say that. He had wanted to get through to her, but obviously, he couldn't. But if California was going to bring her some relief right now, maybe he had to let her go. "Okay" he nodded, running his hands through her hair. "Okay" he repeated, his voice soothing and calm. "Please, come upstairs and sleep" he told her. She hadn't slept all night.

"I want a shower first" she said quietly, all of the momentary energy she had earlier completely gone. Stefan nodded, stepping away from her and grabbing her hand to take her upstairs.

He led her straight to their bathroom and turned the shower on for her, getting it to the perfect temperature. When he turned back around, her eyes looked determined, even with their exhaustion. Slowly, she reached for the bottom of his shirt and slowly began to inch it upwards until it was over his head and lying in a pool at their feet. She reached for the drawstring on his shorts next, undoing it skillfully before letting them fall to the floor too.

Stefan stood stalk still during all of this, unsure of what to do. Did he follow her lead and join her? Or gently dismiss her and go back downstairs. Well, it appeared too late to back out now as she stood silently in front of him, waiting expectantly. Slowly, he hooked his finger inside the top of her pajama bottoms and slowly tugged them down off of her hips, letting them slide to the floor. She grabbed his arms to steady herself as she stepped out of them. He slowly slipped her tank top off, tracing her skin as he did. "I love you" he said quietly, leaning down to kiss her.

She leaned against him in the shower, finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Maybe she should have just gone straight to bed. But feeling Stefan's fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp with her shampoo, was well worth it. She felt more relaxed in that moment than she had for a few days. His hands moved down her back as he gently pushed her under the water to rinse her hair.

Stefan eventually switched the water off and grabbed one of the large fluffy towels to wrap her in. "Feel better?" he whispered.

She nodded her head, looking up into his worried green eyes. She hated when he worried. "Thank you" she whispered back.

He kissed her gently before taking her hand and leading her back to their room. She dressed herself quickly and ran a brush through her hair. She didn't have the energy to dry it. Stefan had the covers pulled back for them and she crawled in eagerly. Elena moved toward him, wrapping her arms around him. He returned the gesture after turning out the lights. He felt her grab ahold of his t-shirt, clenching her fist tightly around the material. "Elena?" he asked.

"I'll go see the therapist when I get back" she whispered quietly. He stilled for a moment upon hearing this. "I don't want to hurt you anymore" she said, her voice quiet and broken. It wasn't fair to Stefan for her past to ruin everything they had built. If a therapist was going to make her stop seeing Derrick when he wasn't even there to begin with, then she would go to therapy and get better. Because she loved Stefan. She didn't want to hurt Lily, either. What if she did freak out when she had Lily and there was no one around? It would terrify Lily, probably even more than Lily finding Elena knocked out cold on the ground.

Stefan kissed her forehead. "I don't want you to hurt anymore" he said, kissing her forehead again. He rubbed her back soothingly, keeping her close. "I don't want you to hurt anymore" he whispered again.

He wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but it wasn't long after they gotten into bed. He didn't sleep though. He watched her sleep, listened to her breathe in and out. Made sure that she wasn't having any nightmares.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Do you have everything?" Stefan asked, standing inside the airport with her. Elena nodded. "You have your bank card? Cash?" he asked her.

"Yes, Stefan" she told him, sighing. She was still really tired.

"And Jeremy is going to be at the airport, ready to pick you up when you land?" he asked.

"Yes Stefan" Elena told him. "I need to go. I have to get through security and find my gate" she reminded him.

"You'll call me when you land?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Yes" she told him. "Now I really need to go" she said again.

"Okay, safe flight" he said, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you too" she said. While he knew she meant it, he couldn't help but feel as though she was distracted. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll call you" she assured him as she walked away. He waited until she was around the corner and out of sight before he turned to leave.

The whole drive home, Stefan couldn't calm his thoughts down. He was worried. Twice, he almost pulled over to turn around and catch the next flight out to California. But he stopped himself. She had said she wanted to go by herself. He would respect that. But he didn't like it.

When he finally did get home, his cell phone rang out and he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face, even if he tried. "Hi Beautiful" he said, his tone light and full of love.

"Hi Uncle Stefan!" Lily sang into her phone.

"What are you up to?" he asked, checking his watch. It was almost eight.

"I'm calling to tell you goodnight" she explained to him. He smiled. "I wish you could read me a story" she sighed. "Daddy can't make all the funny voices like you can" she added.

Stefan laughed. And it felt amazing. "Next time you stay over, I'll read you ten stories to make up for it, okay?" he asked her.

"Okay!" she said excitedly. "Oh, and guess what?" she asked.

Stefan fell back on the couch and smiled. "What?" he asked her, trying match her excitement.

"Daddy bought me new crayons so I can draw you a new picture" she told him. "And one for Elena too!"

"I would love a new picture" Stefan told her. He had kept every single one of them that she had ever given him. He had four boxes worth at least. "Elena would love a new picture too" he added. She could really use one, he thought.

"Okay Uncle Stefan, I gots to go to bed now" she told him. "I love you" she said.

"I love you too baby girl" he told her. "Goodnight" he said softly.

"Nighty night Uncle Stefan" she said before hanging up the phone.

Stefan set his phone down and smiled. A phone call from Lily was just what he had needed. It took his mind off of Elena for a moment or two.

He finally got up off of the couch and headed for the kitchen to get a bottle of water. He shut the fridge and went to turn the light off when the sound of shattering glass filled the room. He turned around just in time to see a rock clattering across the tile on the floor. He looked up at the window to see the hole, but it was too dark to see who might have been standing outside.

His heart rate had increased though as he walked over to pick up the rock. He noticed a small piece of paper attached to it by a rubber band. He quickly undid the band and unfolded the piece of paper. The note was written in barely legible handwriting, but he could make it out.

_You should have believed her._

**A/N: Thoughts? Please let me know! Thanks : )**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, another interesting turn for this story. The possibilities really are quite endless. **

**Thank you for the reviews. You all rock! **

Stefan crumpled the note up in his hand before picking up the rock and hurling it back out the window, breaking even more glass. "You son of a bitch!" he yelled. Quickly, he made a run for the front door and went outside, running around to where the kitchen window was. "Where are you?" he yelled, looking all around, but seeing no one. "If you want her, you're going to have to kill me first!" he yelled as loud as he could. All he was met with was silence.

Stefan made his way back inside, his blood boiling as it pumped rather quickly through his body. He had called the airport – Elena's plane had already taken off for California. She had been checked in and they assured him that she was on the flight.

His next phone call was to Jeremy. Jeremy had gone nuts upon hearing the news and wanted all the information he could get. Unfortunately, Stefan didn't have much to offer him. "Just meet her at baggage claim and take her back to your place. Lock the doors. I don't know if he has followed her over there or not" he explained.

"You really think it is him?" Jeremy asked finally, his voice low and cautious.

Stefan gripped the phone tightly. "I'm not taking any chances" he answered.

"What do I tell her?" Jeremy asked.

"Nothing" Stefan told him. "I'll call her in the morning and explain what happened" he added. "Just keep her safe. I'll talk to you later tonight." With that, he hung up.

Stefan's first text, however, had been to his brother, who came storming through his front door. "What the hell happened?" he asked, his eyes dark with worry.

Stefan held up the crumpled up note for him to read. "Derrick happened" he sighed, taking a seat and running his hands through his hair. He could feel all of the stress and tension building in his neck and shoulders.

"Where's Elena?" Damon asked.

"On her way to California. Jeremy is up to speed on what happened. I'm going to tell Elena tomorrow" Stefan explained. A small string of curse words came out of his mouth from frustration. "Is this all just one big sick joke, or is it really him?" Stefan asked, looking defeated as he turned to look at Damon.

Damon shook his head. "I don't know" he stated. "We should probably go to the police with this. As far as I know, they think he's dead."

"Which gives them little room to believe he could still be alive" Stefan pointed out. "Derrick's shooting was in the paper. The police will just think it's some kid playing a prank on us" he added.

"So what, we just let this go?" Damon asked, clearly frustrated with his little brother.

"No. If he really is alive, we find the SOB and make him dead, like he should have been all along" Stefan said without a hint of hesitancy in his voice.

"And what do you plan to do with Elena in the meantime?" Damon questioned.

That was something that Stefan was still struggling with. On the one hand, he knew that she should be someplace else, away from Mystic Falls. On the other, he didn't trust anyone else to keep her safe but himself. "I want her back here, with me" he stated.

"Okay" Damon nodded, not agreeing with his brother at all. "I'm going to send Katherine and Lily to stay with Zach in New York" he stated. He wasn't going to take any chances. "If he's out there, we'll get him this time" Damon assured him. Because no one messed with their family and got away with it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was early morning when Elena woke up to the sound of her phone buzzing. It was Stefan. "Hello?" she asked sleepily.

His heart clenched tight inside his chest. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up with news like this. "Hey sleepyhead" Stefan said softly.

"Stefan" she said, her voice still entirely too sleepy. "It's early" she said, yawning. Even earlier for him on the East Coast.

"I know, I'm sorry" he told her quietly. "I just needed to tell you that there was an incident last night, after you left" he stated, cutting to the chase.

Elena sat up in her bed, clutching her phone tighter. "What kind of an incident?" she asked, suddenly worried. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly.

Stefan swallowed slowly. "A rock went through our kitchen window last night, with a note attached to it" he said slowly, yet confidently. He knew she was waiting for him to tell her what it said. "It said" he began nervously. "You should have believed her."

"I knew it" Elena breathed into the phone. "I knew I wasn't crazy" she said again, fighting the urge to not yell at him or accuse him. "It's him, Stefan. It really is him."

The more Stefan dwelled on it, the more he believed it. "I'm so sorry Elena" Stefan said, a lump forming in his throat. "I should have believed you" he told her, fighting back his unshed tears. "But Elena. I need you to come back to Mystic Falls, so I can be with you" he told her, expecting quite the fight over the phone with her. "We're going to take care of it. We will find him. But I need to know that you are safe, with me" he said, almost pleading.

There was a long pause before she spoke. "I'll take the first flight out this evening" she stated. She heard Stefan sigh with relief. "Please, be careful" Elena told him.

"I will" he assured her. "Call me before you get on the plane and let me know what time you are going to land" he told her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Stefan" she said. He could tell that she had started to cry softly before she hung up and he desperately wanted to call her back. But he settled for a text instead, reminding her that everything was going to be okay.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So why are you shipping us off to Zach's?" Katherine questioned as she watched her husband pack Lily's suitcase. He was in a hurry.

"He misses Lily" Damon stated.

Katherine grabbed his arm rather forcefully and stopped him. "Don't lie to me. What is going on?" she demanded.

Damon sighed and sat on Lily's bed, motioning for Katherine to sit down too. "Stefan got a rock through his window last night with a note. He thinks it was … Derrick" he explained.

"Oh not this again" Katherine groaned. "Derrick is dead. I thought you agreed that Elena is crazy and seeing things?" she asked.

Damon shook his head. "I'm not so sure anymore" he said, bringing his hand up to rest against Katherine's cheek. "But I'm not taking any chances with you and Lily" he said softly. Katherine held his gaze for a moment before leaning in and kissing him.

"Okay" she said. Damon was surprised that she didn't put up much of a fight. "I'll finish packing our things" she offered.

"Thank you" Damon said. "Elena will be home late tonight. I'm going to try and convince Stefan to send Elena to New York with you two. We will get security for Zach's house" he added.

The thought of living in the same house with Elena for an unknown amount of time did not sit well with her, but she decided not to comment on it. "Okay" she said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily hopped off of her swing and picked one of the daisies in her yard. She was excited to be going to New York to see Zach and hoped that Elena would be going too. She really missed her. So much so that when she saw Elena's car pull up along the curb outside of the gate, Lily took off running for it.

Katherine saw Lily running for the gate and went to the door to see what she was doing. "Lily?" Katherine called.

"Mommy, Elena's here!" Lily yelled excitedly as she continued to run for the gate to let Elena in.

Katherine furrowed her brow. Elena's car was sitting outside of their gate, but Elena was still in California. And Stefan had the password to punch into the keypad and let himself in. Something wasn't right. "Lily, stop!" Katherine yelled, taking off out of the house and running across the yard towards Lily. "Stop, Lily, stop!" Katherine continued to yell.

But Lily didn't. She reached the gate and struggled a great deal to open it, but she was able to slide through to greet Elena. "Elena!" Lily screeched, running up to the car. She peered into the driver's window and realized it wasn't Elena. Instinctively, she backed up.

The door opened and a man stepped out. "Hello, Lily. It is finally nice to meet you" he said, smiling down at her.

"Lily!" Katherine screamed as she neared the gate.

Lily turned to run towards her mother and away from the stranger, but he caught her just in time. "Let go of me!" she screamed as he opened the back door and tossed her inside. "Mommy help!" Lily yelled as the door shut on her.

The man jumped inside of the car and switched the child safety locks on so Lily couldn't escape. "Sit down and shut up!" he yelled at her, putting the car into drive. He jumped slightly when a pair of hands banged against the window.

"Let her go!" Katherine demanded, slamming her hands against the window once more. She went to the back door and nearly broke the door handle trying to get the door opened. "Unlock the door Baby" Katherine pleaded, reaming on the door handle once more.

Lily tried but it wouldn't open. "Mommy!" Lily yelled, slamming on the window and bursting into tears as the car sped away.

Katherine became frantic as she watched the car drive off with her daughter. "Lily!" she screamed as tears flooded down her cheeks. She ran after the car for as long as she could before she was out of breath and could do nothing else but collapse onto the pavement.

"Katherine?" she heard as Damon came out of the fence and ran towards her. "What's wrong?" he asked, bending down to her level and examining her. He had heard Katherine screaming from upstairs. "What happened?" he asked, worry filling his eyes.

"Lily" she barely got out before bursting into tears again. "Someone took Lily" she said, sobbing uncontrollably as she collapsed into Damon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan came running into the police station, searching frantically for Damon and Katherine. He found them at the end of a long hallway. Katherine was wrapped in a large sweatshirt, tearing apart her paper cup and Damon was pacing. Stefan approached cautiously, willing for this to all be some misunderstanding.

Katherine saw him first and stood abruptly. As soon as he reached her, she hauled off and smacked him as hard as she could across his face. "You brought that little bitch into our lives and now my daughter is gone!" Katherine screamed at him, hitting him, shoving him, doing whatever she could to make her pain go away. And Stefan stood there and took it.

Before Damon could intervene, a police officer had grabbed her and subdued her against the wall, threatening to handcuff her if she didn't settle down. "Let her go" Stefan told the police officer calmly, though he was visibly shaken up. The police officer slowly let Katherine go and she turned around to look at Stefan, but this time, with fear and helplessness in her eyes.

She took three steps towards Stefan until she was in his arms and sobbing. "He took my baby" she cried, holding onto Stefan as if her life depended on it. "That son of a bitch took my baby."

Stefan held her and looked at Damon who had clearly been crying as well. He looked like a wreck. They all did. "Did you tell the police, about the note?" Stefan asked Damon.

He nodded solemnly. "I told them about Derrick. I don't think they believed me, but their main focus right now is to find Lily" he said, struggling to get her name out, like it was absolutely absurd that he would be saying such a thing. His sweet, baby girl, being held captive and her fate unknown. It was too much to deal with.

He continued to hold on to Katherine, but he looked right at Damon. "We'll get her back" Stefan told him, told them all. Derrick did not get to get away with this.

Damon nodded as his phone rang out. He picked it up without hesitation. "Salvatore" he bit into the phone. "Yes. Good. Thank you for getting on this so quickly. I want the SOB found. My daughter is your first priority, but he does not get to get away. Do you understand?" Damon asked. "Good. Keep him alive when you find him. Because I am going to tear the skin off of his body, inch by inch, until he slowly and painfully bleeds to death."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena got off the plane, not being able to help but feel sad that her trip to see Jeremy and Bonnie had been cut short. But Stefan wanted her at home with him and she just couldn't say no. To be honest, she wanted to be at home with him too, to make sure nothing happened to him. If Derrick really was out there, which he was, she didn't know what a man capable of faking his own death might also be capable of.

Stefan was waiting for her and he looked like a wreck. Was he really so worried now? "Hi" she mumbled nervously, stepping into his arms and hugging him tight.

He held her tight as well, fearing that if he let her go, she would disappear too. "Let's go home" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He let go of her finally and took her bag and her hand as they left. He was careful to scan the airport as they went to the parking garage, though he doubted that Derrick would be nearby. Not when he now had … Lily.

Stefan held it together all the way home. They were both quiet and he was thankful for that. When they finally did get back home, he again looked around as he ushered her inside and locked up the house.

Elena went into the kitchen to examine the window, leaving Stefan in the living area. He had taped it up for the night. She examined the note on the counter. It was Derrick's writing, most definitely. She went back to the living area to tell Stefan this. When he looked up at her, he was crying. Really, crying. "Stefan?" she asked, standing stalk still.

"He took her" Stefan forced out, his voice full of pain and defeat.

Elena froze, even more than she already had. But somehow, slowly, she shook her head from side to side. She could tell, just by looking at him, by hearing his voice, who he was talking about. "No" she whispered. No, it was not true. It was a mistake. Not, Lily.

Stefan swayed forward some, feeling lightheaded. He grabbed for the chair and slowly lowered himself onto the floor. "He took my … Lily. He took her" he said, beginning to sob in a way that he hadn't in quite some time. But the thought of what Derrick might do to Lily, what he was doing to her, scared the shit out of him.

"No" Elena mumbled, her lip beginning to quiver as she began to cry. "No" she cried softly, shaking her head and walking towards him. She sank into his lap, burying her head into his neck and cried harder. "It's all my fault" she cried against him. "It's all my fault."

Stefan gathered up all the strength he could to shake his head. "No" he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't say that" he told her. "He did this, all on his own. It's his fault" he said with a hint of anger making an appearance.

"I'm so … sorry" Elena said, her voice catching in her throat as her sobs took over. As he held her, all she could concentrate on was how much this was her fault. How Lily would have never been taken in the first place if Elena had just stayed with Derrick. She would have never led him to Mystic Falls, and would have never led him into Stefan's life. It was all her fault.

And she had to fix it.

**A/N: Comments? Freak outs? Tell me what you thought of this update!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This is the last update for about a week or so. I will be on vacation and I won't be able to write until I get back. I am excited to get out of the rain, but I will miss updating for you all. Hopefully I left this story at a good stopping place until I return :D**

**Thank you for your patience and your support! I will still be checking my reviews and tweets, so please make sure to tell me what you think of this update! Thank you :)**

Stefan had a very difficult time sleeping that night – they all did. The detective suggested they try and get some rest and then reconvene in the morning. The police were out searching all night. So were all of the people that Damon and Stefan had hired to track Derrick and find Lily. Still, Stefan felt like he should have been out there looking for Lily all night too.

Stefan had changed into sweats and was sitting on the edge of the bed when Elena came out from the bathroom. He looked like a ghost. Pale, tired. Nothing like the spirited man she had met in the café a year ago. Nothing like the loving husband she had fallen in love with. The one who was always kissing her and trying to initiate just a little more to see how far he could get with her. Or the one who was always caught staring at her; the one who would make her blush with just a few simple words that he meant with all of his heart.

Elena sat down across his lap and wrapped her fragile arms around his neck. She buried her face into his shoulder and kissed the bare skin. "I love you" she whispered.

Stefan could feel warm tears against his skin as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He buried his face into her hair and breathed for the first time in what felt like hours. "I love you too" he whispered back.

Elena had pulled her head up off of him and gently held his face in her hands, mere inches from her own. He couldn't help but feel her pain as well when he watched her beautiful brown eyes pool with tears before releasing them. "Please. Lay down and try to sleep" she whispered, her voice pleading with him.

Stefan nodded. Yes, sleep. The last thing he wanted but the one thing he needed if he was going to resume the next day. Elena crawled off of him and he instantly missed the contact. He wanted nothing more than to be tangled up with her right now. To forget the fact that Lily had been taken. To forget the fact that Derrick was well and alive.

Stefan wanted only to remember the time when he had been so lucky. When everything was better than okay. Like when Elena was giggling softly when he would kiss her stomach because no matter how many times he did it, she was still ticklish. Or how she would wrap her arms around him when he would push against her, and she would sigh contently as he held her securely, trailing his lips along her throat and back behind her ear as he whispered what she did to him as they found their release together. Yes, he craved that physical, intimate attention from her.

But right now, it seemed wrong. For him to want to feel something when his whole world was coming crashing down on him. A world without Lily was not a world at all. For seven years, his universe revolved around that one little girl. Now, his universe had stopped. And it wouldn't resume until Lily was back safely, wrapped in his arms. Stefan climbed into bed and noted that both he and Elena were keeping their distance. He closed his eyes, but he was never able to drift off.

Elena watched him toss and turn all night. Finally, she wrapped her arms around him, moving as close to him as she could, and just held him. He broke down and cried right then, mumbling how scared he was. She cried too, but she continued to hold him. She wanted so desperately to tell him that it would be okay. But, she couldn't tell him that, because, she wasn't sure that it would.

Stefan held on to her, his grip tightening over the course of the night. She became extremely warm and wanted to move away from him for a little while, but she couldn't stand to think of how he would feel if she left him.

So she bared the uncomfortable heat until early morning, when Stefan could no longer stand to be in bed, doing nothing.

When they arrived at the police station, they were both brought into a room where Damon was already seated. "Thank you two for joining us. I just have a few questions" he stated. "Damon believes that a man by the name of Derrick Adams may be involved in the kidnapping. We tried to get a sketch based on what Mrs. Katherine Salvatore gave us. Does this sketch look familiar?" he asked, holding up the photo.

Elena swallowed hard. "That's Derrick" she said, feeling sick to her stomach. Stefan's arm instinctively went around her.

"Any idea of what may be motivating him at this point? Ransom?" the detective asked. "Is it money he wants, do you suppose?" he asked, looking between the three.

Stefan felt his own stomach lurch. "He wants my wife" he said. The sick son of a bitch wanted his wife.

The detective looked at Elena. "What are your thoughts, Mrs. Salvatore?" he asked.

Elena swallowed again and nodded. "He doesn't care about the money. He wants me back. He would do anything, to get me back" she said, her eyes flashing with fear. He would hurt Lily if it meant … trying to get Elena back. "Which is why we should offer a trade. Me for Lily" Elena said, her voice becoming alive.

Stefan's arm left her as he turned to gape at her in utter shock. "Are you kidding me right now?" he asked, anger flashing across his face.

"Stefan, we can get her back" Elena pleaded with him.

The detective seemed to consider this for a moment. "We would have the entire place secured, Stefan. We could make the trade safely and then get Elena back" the detective offered. Stefan glared at him now.

Elena shook her head. "No. He's smart. He would never fall into that trap. We would have to do this for real. Let him take me, in exchange for letting Lily go" she told them all. "It's the only way."

"No" Stefan said harshly. He wouldn't agree to this. Never in a million years would he agree to this.

"It's my daughter we're talking about here!" Damon finally said angrily, facing his brother. He was tired of no progress being made. His little girl was out there with some sick freak.

"And Elena's my wife!" Stefan yelled at him. Both brothers seemed to remain staring each other down for quite some time.

"Stefan" Elena said, trying to calm him. She gently touched his arm.

"No!" he yelled, turning to face her now. "I made you a promise, Elena. I will not let him hurt you again" he said. He looked at the detective pointedly. "The answer is no" he said, slamming a chair into the table before storming out. There had to be another way.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had been on the phone all afternoon with private investigators. Anyone he could find to help him find Lily and that piece of scum. He was also offering a reward; the sum significantly larger if Derrick was brought in alive.

He was also keeping a close eye on Elena, who hadn't talked to him since he stormed out of the detective's office. She was going to try one more time to convince him that this trade, the one where they would get Lily back, was the only option. She had to make him see that she was strong enough to do this. That she believed in him and the police to track them down later on and save her. Hours, days, or weeks. She could be strong for that long, if it meant getting Lily home and safe.

Elena entered his office. He was still on the phone, but he ended the call when he saw her. He looked like hell and she wondered if he had showered yet that day. Or eaten, for that matter. "Hi" she said timidly, working slowly to bring her confidence back up to where she needed it to be. "Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Yeah" he nodded. Elena made her way into the office and came around to his side of the desk, leaning against it. His legs spread as he rolled his chair closer to her, effectively trapping her. That was better though, because she needed to talk to him, even though she really wanted to run back upstairs.

"She's only seven, Stefan" Elena started, effectively catching him off guard and making him vulnerable. "Derrick is desperate. He won't hurt her if he knows he can trade her for me. But the longer we hold off, the angrier he is going to get …" she began, only to stop suddenly by his response.

His docile vulnerability was gone. His anger was back. He stood abruptly, really trapping her between him and the desk now. "I said no" he told her, his voice serious and leaving no room to argue. He searched her eyes to see if she understood now, but all he saw was determination. "I will not let that bastard hurt you again" he said, his voice weaker this time as he imagined what Derrick would do to her. Bits of her revelations some time ago about what Derrick had done to her flashed through his mind. The ones where Derrick had her on the ground. The ones where Elena had admitted to wanting to end it all just to get away from him. No, he wouldn't let that happen to her again. "We'll find Lily. Without having to put you in harm's way."

Elena held his gaze, her confidence weakening by the second. "I want to do this" she said, her voice almost betraying her. The truth was, she was terrified to walk into Derrick's awaiting arms. But the bottom line was, she would do anything to protect Lily. Loving Lily was never part of the deal when it came to being with Stefan. She had learned to love Lily all on her own. "Everything will work out" she said, placing her hands on his arms.

Stefan leaned forward, resting his head against hers. "I won't risk it" he whispered. "Please, for my own sanity, let this go" he added, kissing her forehead before walking away from her. He had his phone open once again and was making a call.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan came into their bedroom an hour to check on Elena. He hated being so cold towards her that morning, ordering her around and forbidding her to do anything. But he loved her and he refused to let anything happen to her too. The only thing getting him through the minutes, even seconds, was the thought of beating Derrick to a pulp when he did find him. Which, he would.

The shower was running in the bathroom. He sighed. At least she was still in the house. A shower actually sounded nice and for a moment, he considered joining her. Maybe some alone time with his wife would clear his head and release some of the stress that was continuously building.

"Elena" Stefan said, knocking softly. There was no answer. "Elena" he said, a little louder and checking the door. It was locked. There was still no answer. "Elena!" he yelled, banging on the door. His mind raced with thoughts of why she wasn't answering. Was she really that mad that she would ignore him? Was she hurt? His protective instinct was on overdrive. He stepped back and ran at the door, attempting to bust the door down. It took a few more tries before the wood split around the metal and he was able to push the door over. He ran inside and opened the shower door. She wasn't in there.

Fear coursed through him as he ran back out of the room and downstairs. "Elena!" he yelled, searching frantically. "Elena!" he yelled again. He checked downstairs and noticed the keys to his car where gone. When he looked outside, his car was no longer sitting in the driveway. She was gone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had ditched Stefan's car a few miles back, choosing to walk to give herself more time to get away. The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked along a dirt trail that would lead her to an abandoned construction site. She was roughly 30 miles outside of Mystic Falls. It wasn't far, but it was far enough if she hurried. She knew Stefan would be furious. Scared and heartbroken, too. It killed her to know that she would make him feel that way, but she couldn't just sit around and do nothing when she was the only person who could do something.

Getting ahold of Derrick was easy. He hadn't changed his cellphone number, probably because he wanted Elena to be able to contact him over the years. Elena had left her phone at home so that they couldn't track her.

Elena didn't know what would await her when she saw Derrick. Would he hurt her? For leaving him? Would he want to start over? Whatever her fate was, her number one priority was to get Lily home safe. In fact, Elena had negotiated this with Derrick on the phone and he seemed all too willingly to oblige. If she came to him, he was to let Lily go, unharmed. That was the deal.

Elena felt her anxiety spike when she came off of the trail and saw the abandoned construction site before her. Even more overwhelming was the sight of Derrick, leaning against an old Bronco. His arms were crossed and his lips were turned up in a satisfied smile. "Hello, Elena" he said slowly.

Elena stopped. "Where's Lily?" she asked. She scanned the windows of the vehicle before her and couldn't find Lily. Her heart stopped. Where was she? Dead? Hurting somewhere?

"Did you really think I would bring her with me?" Derrick asked, raising his eyebrow. "I wanted to make sure you lived up to your word. He searched around. I don't see any police" he said, somewhat impressed. "Because if the police were to show up, I have Lily hidden someplace. She would starve to death before anyone found her" he informed her. He was no dummy.

"I said I would come alone" Elena told him, feeling her anger begin to rise. "You said you would let her go."

Derrick laughed. "That brat is my insurance" he enlightened her.

"Insurance for what?" Elena asked. She was standing right there before him. What more did he want? "Is it money you want?" she asked. Maybe money was a motivator for him, too. After all, he would probably want to take Elena and get as far away from Stefan and Mystic Falls as possible.

Derrick smiled again. "She's my insurance to make sure you cooperate. To make sure you don't leave me again" he explained. "You see, Elena. I know you, better than you think. Even if I did lie to you about releasing Lily, you'll still come with me willingly" he said.

"What makes you say that?" Elena spat at him. He was deranged. Sick and deranged.

"Because, you'll want to make sure Lily is safe. We both know I have no idea how to take care of a child" he told her. "So, you'll get in this car with me right now to make sure Lily is okay. The more time we waste out here, the more time she sits alone, scared. Crying. Wondering if she will ever see someone she loves again."

"You are sick" she said, her voice filled with venom.

Derrick took a step towards her, but she didn't flinch. "Your choice, Elena" he told her, his eyes boring into hers.

But it wasn't her choice. Not where Lily was concerned. She straightened and stepped towards him, attempting to show that she was not afraid of him. "Take me to Lily, now" she demanded.

Derrick smiled. "As you wish."

**A/N: Something tells me this was a bad idea, Elena …**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This took me forever to write, but I think it is one of my favorites for this sequel so far! It is a little dark, but it does involve Derrick.**

**Please let me know what you think. I thrive off of your feedback. It helps me formulate ideas and clarify things.**

**Also, I will be gone all next week again, so I will not be updating. I hate doing this to you all, but I need to spend time with my friends. Please forgive me and I thank you for your patience in advance!**

Elena sat perfectly still as she watched Mystic Falls disappear further and further behind her. Derrick hadn't said a word to her since she had gotten in the car. "So where is my car, anyways?" Elena asked, her voice direct and forward as she tried to keep control over the situation.

Derrick smiled, but kept his eyes on the road. "In a lake" he answered smoothly. Then he smirked. "You're lucky the little brat didn't go in with it" he added.

Elena felt her heart beat against her chest more forcefully. "She's just a child" Elena reminded him, her voice cracking some.

"What's she to you anyways, Elena?" he asked. "Stefan's niece?" he questioned. "She's not even your own blood" he pointed out.

"You know what she is to me" Elena said through gritted teeth. He was starting to play a game with her. One she knew she wouldn't like.

"Here's something that I have been pondering since you called me" he said, scratching his chin. "If it came down to choosing between the two of you, who do you think Stefan would choose to save?" he asked. "You, his fake, means-to-an-end wife, or his precious little Lily?" Derrick asked, shooting a curious glance at her. Elena clenched her right hand. "I've told you before, Elena. He won't ever love you the way you want him too. No one could ever love you that much. I mean, for one, you're really not that pretty" he said, turning his attention back to the road. "You're not that great in bed either, but I'm sure he knows that by now. I'm sure he figured that out the first night you two met" he added, hinting towards her being a bit on the promiscuous side. "He can do better, Elena. And he will. He'll give up on looking for you after a while. You know, after he shows his family that he's devoted to rescuing you. Then he'll give up. And probably thank me for making it easier on him to get rid of you."

Elena felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. It wasn't true, but he was playing on her insecurities. "Stop it" Elena told him calmly. While what he said hurt, she found great pleasure in thinking about what Stefan, and Damon for that matter, would do to Derrick once they found him. It would be slow and it would be agonizing. Elena had to hold on to that.

"I'm just telling you the facts" Derrick said.

Elena decided to change the subject. "How are you even alive? Stefan saw you get killed" she pointed out somewhat defensively.

Derrick smiled. "No, no my dearest Elena. Your little Stefan saw me get shot" he corrected. "I will admit, it was a close one. Even I thought death was my fate. But, the doctors were able to revive me" he told her. "You do remember my connections on the police force, don't you?" he asked her. "My family thought I would be a lot safer if I was pronounced dead, you know, seeing as how the Salvatores are not too entirely fond of me" he pointed out. "Faking your death is easy, Elena, when so many want you dead" he concluded.

Elena glared at him in disgust. It made her physically sick to think that his family would protect him, after everything he had done. She had met them twice, his family, and she knew they would support him until the day he died, no matter what awful things he did. They had never liked Elena, anyways.

Derrick turned off of the road they were on about an hour later. He followed a dirt road for about half a mile before parking the car.

Elena looked around and saw nothing. Her heart began to pound inside her chest. Derrick was going to kill her, right there. "Where is she?" Elena asked, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

Derrick chuckled to himself. "You really think I would make it that easy for anyone to find us?" he asked. Then he pointed ahead of him. "We have about a mile walk that way" he said.

Elena looked down at the frail slip-on shoes she was wearing. The ones Stefan had made her buy three hours into their day out because she couldn't stop wincing from the cute, but not practical, heels she was wearing. And now Derrick wanted her to hike through the bushes in them. Derrick started walking off, expecting her to follow. "She's just a child" Elena called out, reminding him once again.

Derrick stopped and turned slightly to acknowledge her. "A child who would be safely tucked into her own bed had you not left me in the first place" Derrick reminded her. Elena's entire expression turned to one of guilt. "Come along, Elena. Lily is probably … dying to see you" he said with an evil grin that illuminated his eyes.

Elena reluctantly followed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Damnit!" Stefan yelled, kicking a kitchen chair. Damon entered, staring wide-eyed at his brother. "They found Elena's car in the bottom of the lake. There goes any chance of tracking them down" he said, closing is eyes and running his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner. Then, he shot his head up abruptly. "She's smart. She's a damn idiot for running off, but she's smart" Stefan said, more to himself than to his brother. "She's going to be fine. They both will" he added, his voice shaking slightly.

Damon neither agreed nor disagreed with him. He was present, physically, but not mentally by this point. He was exhausted, having spent every waking hour working with countless people to find his daughter. Having to console Katherine who was inconsolable. Having to look in on his brother who was about ready to lose it. "I have a few phone calls to make" Damon said, his voice flat and tired. As quickly as he came, he left.

Stefan sat down, his legs tiring on him. He looked at the photographs laid out on the counter before him. The ones used on the missing persons posters that were being hung up all around town and broadcasted on national TV. One of Lily, in a green shirt that made her eyes stand out. Stefan had taken that picture a month ago in his backyard. And one photo of Elena, in a burgundy sweater, taken just before she graduated. He had taken that one too. They were both smiling, at him, he thought. He would give anything to see them smiling again. Anything.

He rested his head against the cool countertop and closed his eyes, willing himself to think of a happy memory that could get him through the next painful hour.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_He heard her sneak back into their bedroom, quiet as she could be. It couldn't have been even five in the morning, judging by the lack of light filtering into the room. Stefan strained his ears to hear what she was doing. It sounded like she was closing something. _

_Moments later, she was slowly climbing back into bed with him, careful not to wake him. He felt her lean over and kiss his forehead before settling back down into the comforter. He smiled. He loved when she thought he was asleep, but he really wasn't. "What were you doing?" Stefan asked, his eyes still closed._

_There was a brief pause. "Nothing" she said quietly, though he could hear it in her voice that she was hiding something from him. And she was excited about it too._

_His fingers found the bottom of her tank top before slowly making their way under it. He felt Elena squirm just slightly. "Didn't sound like nothing" Stefan said, finally rolling over on top of her suddenly, catching her by surprise. "Are you going to tell me?" he asked, slowly dipping his head to kiss along her neck. His hands moved to her back, gently massaging her skin. _

_Elena closed her eyes and smiled. "Sur … surprise" she barely got out as his hands began to travel upwards, taking her tank top with them. _

"_Surprise, huh?" he asked, lifting her forward slightly and removing her top._

_Elena knew exactly where this was headed. "Stefan, it's four in the morning" she reminded him in her half-hearted attempt to stop him. "Only vampires are up and about at this hour."_

_Stefan licked from a spot on her shoulder all the way back up to just behind her ear, nibbling on her sensitive skin as he went. She squirmed beneath him again, clearly being driven crazy by what he was doing to her. "So let's pretend we're vampires" he whispered into her ear. He moved his lips down along her neck and bit her a little harder than he had earlier, causing her to yelp. Not from pain, but from surprise and the overwhelming feeling that it caused that spread through her body. She wrapped her arms around his back, trailing her fingers lightly along the curves that defined each and every one of his muscles._

_And then he stopped. Everything. Kissing her. Touching her. Elena looked up at him with alarm. It wasn't like Stefan to just stop in the middle of something like this. "What's wrong? She asked, letting her hands fall back to her sides._

_Stefan simply smiled. "I just want to tell you how much I love you" he said, moving a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I love you, Elena" he said, this time, his voice serious as his hands held her face. _

_Elena reached up and held his wrists, capturing the way he was looking at her, with so much love and devotion, and storing it in her mind._

"_I love you, Stefan" she said softly. "Always" she whispered, feeling the tears prick at the backs of her eyes. God, she loved him. After everything she had been through, she was able to love someone. Really, truly, be in love with someone._

_Stefan grabbed her left hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her wedding ring. He looked at it and then smiled before returning his eyes to hers. "Always" he repeated. After just a short time being married to her, he was proud to say that word. Always._

_An hour later, maybe two, Elena rolled away from Stefan closing her eyes and panting for breath. He laughed at her current state, though he was doing the same thing. "Let's do that again, after lunch" he said, his voice filled with amusement. _

_Elena smiled, finally being able to open her eyes. "Do you want to see what I have for you?" she asked, rolling over onto her side and propping herself up on her elbow. _

_Stefan grinned. "You mean, that mind-blowing sex we just had wasn't my surprise?" he asked, his mouth dropping open as he feigned surprise._

_Elena smacked his arm playfully as she got and went to her dresser. Stefan watched her, enjoying the view very much. She grabbed a large book and made her way back to bed. "Here" she said, handing it to him._

_Stefan looked at her curiously as he took the large leather bound book from her and opened it. Inside he found pictures of Lily, and some with him and Lily. There were also drawings and various artworks that Lily had given to Stefan over the years. All compiled into a scrapbook. He looked up at her in complete silence, having no idea what to say. "I was cleaning out a closet and found boxes of photos of you and Lily and all of these pictures she had made for you" she explained, feeling nervous all of a sudden because he hadn't said anything. "I just thought you might like to have them all in one place and so you could easily flip through it all" she added._

_Stefan went back to looking through the book, still not saying anything. There were photos of when Lily was born, all the way up until the previous week when Lily had been over. The artwork ranged from preschool all the way until the end of the last school year, and a few pictures she had drawn for him during that summer. "This … this is amazing" he finally said, looking up at her. She seemed to sigh with relief upon hearing this. "I just …" he said, lost for words. He never thought someone would do something like this for him. Lily meant the world to him, and Elena had proven her acknowledgement of this by doing something so thoughtful. "You are amazing" he said, setting the book aside and pulling her into a hug. "I love it. Thank you." Elena smiled as she hugged him back. "What's this for? I mean, what's the occasion?" he asked, letting her go. It wasn't his birthday, or Christmas. _

_Elena shrugged, finding it a little sad that he thought it had to be a specific day or occasion for him to receive something that meant a lot to him. He gave her things all the time. "Just because" she answered him._

_Stefan looked at her with a playfully raised eyebrow. "Just because?" he repeated._

"_Just because I love you" she smiled, leaning in and kissing him._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Derrick pushed open the door to a rundown old fishing cabin. He held out his arm, inviting her in. Elena carefully slid past him and inside. The inside didn't look any better than the outside. Her stomach flipped thinking about Lily having to stay in this place. Elena whipped around upon hearing Derrick close the door. "Where is she?" Elena demanded.

Derrick smiled. He walked past Elena to the back of the cabin. He kicked a rug over and pulled a door open from the floor. A set of stairs were revealed. Elena swallowed nervously. "She's down there" Derrick informed her.

Elena walked cautiously over to the opening and looked down. It was completely dark and silent. "Lily?" Elena's voice croaked. "Lily, are you down there?" she asked again. Panic set in when Lily didn't respond. "Lily!" Elena yelled.

A muffled cry filtered up through the stairs and Elena bolted down there, taking the old rickety steps three at a time until she was at the bottom. It smelled like mildew down there and Elena had to cover her nose in order to not gag. "Lily?" Elena called out, bumping into things as she searched in the dark.

"Elena?" a small voice squeaked from a corner in the back.

"Yeah, it's me Lily" Elena said, failing to keep her tears at bay any longer. Elena could make out the shadow of a small figure emerging from under an old desk. Elena ran towards her, scooping Lily up and holding her tight. "I'm here" Elena cried, holding Lily as close to her as she possibly could.

Lily cried too, clinging to Elena. "I want to go home" she sobbed, clasping Elena's jacket tightly with her small hands. "I want Daddy and Mommy and Uncle Stefan" she continued to sob.

Elena's heart continued to break, but she knew that she needed to be strong. Because being strong and smart was going to get Lily home safe. Elena got down on her knees so that she was eye level with Lily. "Listen to me" Elena said, wiping at Lily's tears. Elena lowered her voice and held Lily's face in her hands. "I'm going to make sure you get home, okay?" she told Lily. Lily nodded as she sniffled. "But for right now, I need you to stay with me and do exactly what I tell you to do, okay?" she asked. "Okay?" Elena repeated, a little more desperate this time.

"Okay" Lily cried softly.

Elena pulled Lily back into a hug, saying a silent prayer that she was still alive. "Good" Elena whispered. "Come on" she said, picking Lily's shaking body up and carefully navigating her way back towards the stairs.

When Elena emerged with Lily, Derrick was sitting in a chair facing them. He was fiddling with a small handgun. Elena glared at him. "Put that away" she ordered.

"This is just in case any of you decide to run" he stated, looking over his gun again.

"No one is going to run. Now put it away" she said firmly.

Derrick smiled and reached over to open a drawer. He placed the gun in it and shut it again. "You are feistier than I remember" he said. Then he stood and walked towards her, standing face to face with her. "Don't let it get you in trouble" he warned before going and sitting back down.

Elena quickly went into the bathroom area and shut the door. She sat Lily up on top of the old rusty sink and started the water. Lily was a mess. Her tears had left trails down her dirty face. She had dirt under her nails, her hair was messy and full of cobwebs. She was cold and pale, too. Elena put water on her hands and began to wash Lily's face the best she could. "I'm hungry Elena" Lily whimpered quietly.

"I'll find you something to eat" Elena promised. She took Lily's dirty jacket off and went to work on her hands and arms. "Did he hurt you?" Elena asked quietly.

Lily sniffled again. "He grabbed my arm real hard" she told Elena, pointing to the arm he had grabbed.

Elena forced herself to be calm. When all she really wanted to do was go out there and scream at him for doing this to Lily. "Did he touch you anywhere else?" Elena asked hesitantly. She wouldn't think Derrick would do such a thing. But then again, how well did she really know him?

Lily shook her head no. "But he calls me mean names" she said sadly. "He's a scary meanie" she added as Elena let her own hair down and used the ponytail holder on Lily's hair.

"I'm sorry he calls you mean names" Elena said, smoothing out Lily's hair.

"I hate him" Lily said sadly.

"I do too" Elena said, allowing herself to say it as well. "But I'm going to figure out how to get you out of here" she promised, helping Lily down from the sink. "I just need a little time" she added quietly.

Elena opened the bathroom door and Lily immediately reached her arms up, demanding to be picked up. Elena reached down and grabbed her, feeling Lily practically wrap her body around her. Derrick was still sitting in his chair, watching them. "Wow, you almost look pretty again" he said, directing his comment towards Lily.

Elena glared at him. "Leave her alone" she warned.

"Or what?" Derrick asked. "What are you going to do, Elena?" he said in a threatening tone.

Elena immediately backed down. She couldn't defend herself or Lily with Lily clinging so tightly onto her. "Here, stand on your own for a minute" Elena said, setting Lily down. Lily clung to Elena's leg. "She's hungry" Elena mentioned.

Derrick shrugged. "What do you expect me to do about it?" he asked.

Elena took a slow, calming breath. "You need to get her something to eat" Elena told him. "You're the one who decided to kidnap a child. Now you have to take responsibility for her" she pointed out.

Derrick stood abruptly, not liking what Elena had to say at all. "You better check yourself right now, Elena. I don't like your tone" he warned.

Elena swallowed, pulling Lily closer to her. "I'm just telling you, you have to feed her" she said, quieter this time.

"How about you just shut the hell up and stop talking?" Derrick suggested, his eyes narrowed.

"Don't talk to my Aunt Elena that way!" Lily yelled at him, her own little eyes narrowing in on his.

"And what if I don't?" he asked, taking a step towards Lily. Elena pushed Lily farther behind her, shushing her.

"Then my daddy is gonna beat you up and so will my Uncle Stefan" she told him matter of factly. Derrick looked amused now. "And then my mommy is gonna kick you in your private parts so hard that you won't be able to walk for a week!" she yelled at him. Elena didn't even want to begin to question Lily about where she had heard that. Because Elena knew that Katherine had more than likely told Lily this and had probably shown her where to kick a man to bring him down, too.

Derrick took a few more steps forward. "You listen up you little brat" he told her harshly. "If you know what's good for you, you will keep your damn mouth shut or I will take you out to the middle of the lake and drop you in it" he told her angrily.

Lily crossed her little arms and glared at him. "Do it. I can swim" she challenged him.

This only infuriated Derrick more. Before Elena knew it, he was yanking on Lily's arm, pulling her forward and raising his other hand to hit her. And before Elena knew it, she was throwing herself in front of Lily, taking the blow that would have undoubtedly knocked Lily to the ground.

Lily cried out and Derrick stepped back. Elena grabbed the side of her face, tasting blood in her mouth. She hadn't tasted blood in a while. Because Stefan didn't hit her. Stefan kissed her, and held her, and told her how beautiful she was. "Elena!" Lily cried, clinging to her again. Elena wrapped her arm around Lily and held the side of her own face with her other hand. She felt the familiar sting and knew that her face would begin to swell soon.

"That brat needs to be taught respect" Derrick growled at Elena. Then his eyes darkened. "And you apparently need to re-learn it" he added before turning and walking out the front door, letting it slam. Elena held a now sobbing Lily against her as she watched Derrick exchange a conversation with a man outside. They both looked towards the house and then Derrick disappeared.

He was having the place watched. Their chances for escaping where slim to none.


	10. Chapter 10

Elena sat on the floor, leaning against the old couch that looked out of place in the rundown cabin. Lily was curled up in her lap, her head leaning against Elena's shoulder. Elena's leg was going numb from Lily's direct weight, but she didn't have the heart to make her move right now. Lily was focused on Elena's wedding ring, spinning it around and around on Elena's finger. She would run her finger over the diamonds, examining them carefully before continuing to spin the ring again.

It had been hours and Derrick still wasn't back. Lily hadn't complained about being hungry again, but Elena knew she was. And it broke her heart, knowing she couldn't do anything for her.

Elena's cheek had gone numb, like the rest of her body wanted too. Lily had asked about her a few times, offering to play doctor and fix it. But Elena had assured her that she was fine. Elena hadn't dared to look in the mirror though, afraid of what she would see. The past coming back to the present.

"I want a ring this pretty when I get older" Lily said softly, continuing to spin Elena's ring.

Elena kissed her hair, wrapping her arms tightly around her. "Someday, you will" Elena whispered.

"Can I try your ring on?" Lily asked, looking up at her. She loved jewelry. Probably because Stefan, Damon, and Katherine always bought it for her. Elena remembered back to when she was little and how excited she was to get fake, plastic jewelry to wear. Lily was getting diamonds.

Elena smiled. "Sure" she said, making some effort to wiggle the ring lose. She placed it on Lily's small finger and watched it slide down.

Lily's eyes brightened as she looked at the ring now upside down on her finger. She smiled big as she looked up at Elena again. "I bet this costed lots" Lily told her. Elena was pretty sure that it had, taking into account how old it was. "Uncle Stefan must love you lots" she stated.

Elena hoped so, even after the stunt she had pulled. Stefan was going to be so furious with her. "I love your Uncle Stefan a lot" Elena said, pushing a few of Lily's curls off of her forehead.

"Me too" Lily told her. "And I love Daddy and Mommy and you too" she added. "And Caroline and Uncle Zach. And your friend and your brother." Then Lily made a face. "Not Alaric though cause he smells." Elena couldn't help but laugh and she paid the price, flinching slightly from her sore cheek. Lily looked up at her, raising her hand to Elena's face. "Does it still hurt?" she asked.

Elena grabbed her hand and nodded. "A little. But it will be all better tomorrow" she told her.

Lily studied Elena's cheek for a moment. "Uncle Stefan's not gonna be happy that the mean man hit you" she said.

Elena didn't want to think about that. She couldn't stand the thought of having to look at Stefan when he found out. "No, he's not" Elena agreed. Elena took her ring back and stuffed it in her pocket. It probably wasn't a good idea to be wearing it around Derrick.

The door handle wiggled minutes later and Derrick walked in, tossing a paper bag onto the table. Lily buried her face in Elena's shirt to hide. Elena refused to look at him. "She eat chicken nuggets?" Derrick asked, staring at both of them huddled together on the floor.

Elena didn't want to answer him. She didn't want to acknowledge his existence. But … Lily. "Yes" Elena answered, continuing to look away from him.

Derrick grabbed the bag and walked it over to them, handing it to Elena. "Here" he said.

Elena took the bag reluctantly and opened it. Inside was a container with chicken nuggets and fries. Elena opened it and pulled out a nugget for Lily. "Here" she whispered.

Lily took it eagerly and munched away on it. Elena sighed, thankful that Lily was now eating. "Want some?" she asked Elena quietly, holding half of the piece of chicken out for Elena.

Elena took a small bite, having no desire to eat, but wanting to appease Lily. "Thank you" she said, forcing a small smile for Lily. Lily smiled back and finished the piece of chicken in her hand. Elena whispered something to Lily, who immediately shook her head and clung to her. "Just for a minute" Elena promised. Slowly, Lily let go of her and moved off of her lap reluctantly. "I need to talk to you" Elena said, standing up.

Derrick looked at her with amusement. He held out his arm, motioning for her to step outside with him. Elena did so, very much aware of Lily's eyes glued to her until the door shut. "Yes?" he asked.

"Why do you want Lily?" Elena asked, her eyes focusing in on his.

He smiled. "I already told you. If I have Lily, I have you" he reminded her.

"I'm not going to run" Elena told him confidently. "But I want you to let her go."

Derrick looked even more amused. He stepped closer to Elena, effectively making her step back. "You don't get to call the shots here, Elena. I see that the past year you have been with Stefan, you seem to have forgotten your place" he said. Clearly, Stefan had let her do as she pleased. That was not going to work for him. Ever so gently, he reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Besides" he whispered. "He took something that was mine. Now, I have two things that belong to him" he said, smiling at the irony of it all.

"You can't keep a child where there is no hot water or a bed" she said, her tone steady when really, all she wanted to do was lash out at him for being a cold-hearted monster. She figured he didn't have much money, otherwise they would have been long gone by now. His family wasn't wealthy and he clearly wasn't working. "Let me get money out of an ATM so we can get a hotel room" she suggested. Though, the thought of being in a hotel with him was sickening.

His hand came up against her throat quickly as he pushed her back against the side of the old cabin, her head knocking against the wood. "Is what I have to offer not good enough for you?" he asked, his tone harsh and angry as he whispered quietly into her ear. "Back when I met you, I was all you needed" he reminded her. "So I suggest you think long and hard about how you talk to me. Because I will have no problem taking that little brat and throwing her into the lake to drown while you watch. Hell, I'll even take video for Stefan so he won't miss it" he threatened.

Elena took a small gasping breath as he slowly let go of her neck. Her whole body was shaking as she quickly processed what he had just said. Was he bluffing? Would he really hurt Lily? Could she take the chance that he wouldn't? "I'm sorry" Elena whispered, wanting so desperately to rub her aching neck.

Derrick seemed to evaluate her level of sincerity for a moment. Then he approached her again and Elena fought hard not to shrink away. He placed his hand on her face gently, as if what he had done moments earlier had never happened. "You make me do things I don't like to do" he told her, searching her eyes. "I don't like to hurt you, Elena" he said. "I love you. Tell me you know that" he told her. "Tell me."

Something clicked in Elena in that moment. Something that should have clicked so much sooner. "I do" she whispered. Derrick smiled and leaned forward, placing a light kiss on her lips. Elena didn't move away. She stood there and accepted his kiss.

When Elena came back inside, Lily looked up at her curiously. "I saved some for you" Lily told her, cupping the chicken nuggets and fries in her hand as she walked over to Elena.

Elena didn't know whether to cry or smile at the little girl's innocence amongst so much turmoil. "You should eat the rest of them" Elena said, blinking back her tears. The only thing Elena wanted to do was wash her lips where he had kissed her.

"I'm all full" Lily told her, holding her hands up for Elena. Elena gave in and took the pieces of chicken and the few fries from her.

"Are you saving that one for later?" Elena asked, pointing to the chicken nugget lying on top of the paper bag by itself.

Lily grinned – the same grin that Katherine gave when she had something evil planned. "I dropped that one in the dirt. It's for the mean man" she said, quite amused with herself.

Elena bent down with her free arm and scooped Lily up. "I love you, kid" she said, taking a seat on a nearby chair. After the unpleasant confrontation with Derrick, it was a peaceful break to witness Lily scheming to give Derrick a dirty chicken nugget.

"I love you too" Lily said, wrapping her arms around Elena's neck. "I bet Uncle Stefan misses us lots" she whispered. "Cause he loves us. He tells me all the time. And he likes when I come over and help him with the horses. And he said he likes watching you sleep because you are pretty" she said, having a little running dialogue with herself.

Elena couldn't blink back a tear fast enough and it rolled down her cheek. "I know he misses us" Elena told her quietly. As angry as he probably was, he was probably going out of his mind with worry, too. Katherine and Damon as well. Elena hugged Lily tight, listening to the little girl breathe softly against her. Elena had to go about things differently with Derrick from now on. She couldn't put on the tough girl act anymore. She had to make Derrick believe that she was in love with him again, that she had never fallen out of love with him. Otherwise, she feared that Lily wouldn't make it home alive.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Why the hell is my daughter still gone?" Katherine yelled at the detective who had stopped by the house to talk with Damon. "Is it because your cops are sitting on their asses eating donuts and drinking coffee in the parking lot?" she asked, raising her voice once again. She was sick and tired of counting the hours that passed. She had no idea where her daughter was, if she was okay, or when she would come back home.

"I can assure you, Mrs. Salvatore, that my team is doing everything short of the impossible to find your daughter and the other Mrs. Salvatore" he informed a now seething Katherine.

'"Elena!" Katherine shouted in disbelief. "That no good, gold-digging whore is the reason my daughter is missing in the first place!" she lashed out. "Elena can rot in hell for all I care, right along with that boyfriend of hers" she said angrily.

"Enough, Katherine" Damon's voice sounded from behind her. Katherine turned around, her dangerous glare piercing through his eyes. Stefan was standing lifelessly right next to him, having paled from her words. "Elena left to find Lily and keep her safe" Damon reminded. "She knew Derrick would let her, and only her, find him." He was being too reasonable for Katherine's liking.

"You don't know that!" Katherine yelled at him. "You don't know that Elena is with her!" she said, bursting into a fresh set of tears. "You don't know that our baby is even still alive!" she said, almost incoherently as the sobs took over her. When Damon tried to go to her, she shoved past him, leaving the room. She was never one to show weakness in front of others. But to her, she was not weak. She was mad as hell. And that is what she wanted everyone to see.

"I'm sorry, detective" Damon said. The detective nodded understandingly. "You said you had something to discuss?" he asked.

The detective nodded. "I just wanted to keep you up to date. Our team will begin doing a sweep through the forest here in Mystic Falls. We've asked for volunteers, but if you know anyone willing to help, please do contact them" he said.

"Why are you searching in the woods?" Damon asked, not understanding. Derrick would have been long gone out of Mystic Falls.

"For bodies" Stefan said, his lifeless form croaked out. "You think they're dead" he added. If he had had something in his stomach, he probably would have thrown up.

It was true. In many situations involving abduction, the child was usually murdered within 24 hours after the capture. Elena may have complicated this, though. "I didn't say that" the detective corrected. "Given the uncertainty of this man's behaviors, we need to prepare for all of the possible outcomes" he said as gently as he could.

Damon stared at the detective wide-eyed. Stefan stared at no one in particular as he processed the detective's words. "She once told me, that if Derrick ever found her, he would kill her" Stefan said without an ounce of emotion in his voice. Elena had been so frightened that night when she had opened up to him. Slowly and lifelessly, he walked toward the same direction that Katherine had gone, leaving the detective and his brother speechless.

Stefan eventually made it to Lily's room. Katherine was sitting on the bedroom floor, holding Lily's baby blanket. "I made this for her, right before she was born. I hate knitting, but I wanted her to have something that I had made for her" she whispered as tears continued to run down her usually perfectly made up face. Stefan sat down next to her, reaching out and touching the blanket. "I just want to know that she is okay" Katherine said sadly, clutching the blanket even tighter.

Stefan wrapped his arm around her, leaning his head against hers. "I know" he said, closing his eyes. He knew, except there were two people he was scared to death about.

She shook her head quickly. "I can't just sit here and not do anything. I want to go out and look" Katherine said, straightening up and wiping angrily at her tears.

"I'll go with you" Stefan said, without a hint of hesitancy in his voice. He had been told countless times to leave the investigation to the professionals. But enough was enough. He and Katherine had sat around long enough, being ordered around and given very little information.

Katherine looked at him for a long moment. "Go home. I'll meet you there in half an hour" she told him, standing up and leaving Lily's room.

Stefan remained where he was, thinking about all of the reasons he and Katherine should not go off on their own. He couldn't think of a single one.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Enjoy! A lot happens, so I hope it all makes sense and doesn't seem rushed. Though, nothing about Derrick should make sense ;) **

"Why not this way?" Katherine asked, holding one end of the map while Stefan held the other.

Stefan shook his head. "Because I don't think he'd go that way. There's too many checkpoints with police officers" Stefan explained. They were pulled over on the side of some back road, trying to plan their next move. They hadn't even bothered with Mystic Falls, seeing as how every inch of the town had practically been searched.

"He would have to have a place to stay, right?" Katherine asked, looking for areas where shelter might have been possible. "And I doubt he would stay in a hotel. It would be too risky with …" she said, then hesitated. With Lily.

Stefan grabbed her hand reassuringly. "He wouldn't stay in a hotel I don't think. Or anywhere with a lot of people."

"They could be anywhere Stefan" Katherine said, feeling defeated already. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

Stefan continued to study the map. "There is a small forest about 50 miles this way" he said, showing her. "It rests up against a lake. That probably means fishing cabins and summer rentals" he added. "But it's getting late. Let's find a hotel and try tomorrow" he told her, hating that they had to stop, but knowing that it would be no use without daylight.

Katherine looked at the map again. "Fine" she said, having no better options for them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena wrapped Lily up in a dry, scruffy towel as she helped her out of the bathtub. "That was cold" Lily said, scrunching up her face as she said it.

Elena smiled sadly and kissed her forehead. "I know, I'm sorry" she told her. "But we had to get you all clean" she added, grabbing for Lily's clothes.

Once Lily was dressed, Elena ran her fingers through the little girl's hair in an effort to comb it. "I'm tired" Lily said, not bothering to hold back her yawn.

Elena nodded. "Let's get you to bed then" she said, hanging the towel on the side of the tub and picking Lily up. She unlocked the door and went out. Derrick was nowhere to be found. Elena grabbed a blanket off of the couch and put Lily down, covering her up and sitting with her.

"Tell me a bedtime story" Lily said quietly, looking up at Elena with such tired eyes.

Elena moved next to her and smiled. "There once was a brave prince who lived in a castle all by himself" Elena began.

"Was his name Uncle Stefan?" Lily asked, a hint of excitement settling across her eyes.

Elena laughed softly. "Yeah, his name was Uncle Stefan" she told her. "And he had horses. One day he went for a ride down by the river and he came across a beautiful girl sitting on a rock, looking down at the water" she continued.

Lily smiled. "Was the girl's name Elena?" she asked.

Elena nodded. "Yeah, her name was Elena" she said, brushing a strand of hair off of Lily's face.

"Is there a girl named Lily in your story too?" Lily asked.

"There sure is" Elena told her. "The prince asked Elena if she was okay. She looked kind of sad" Elena said.

"Cause she wasn't married to Prince Uncle Stefan" Lily said, taking the story in her own direction. "So, he took her riding on his horse and then he married her. And then his favorite person in the whole wide world, Lily, came over and really liked Elena" she explained. Elena liked that story better than the one she had planned on telling. Lily continued to tell her story until she fell asleep. At one point, there was a dragon and an ice cream shop.

Elena kissed her head lightly before carefully getting up. She went to the door and quietly opened it to find Derrick sitting outside on the front porch step. "Beautiful night out tonight" Derrick said, staring out into the dark woods. Elena sat down next to him. "You remember when we would go for a drive really late at night and park somewhere and just talk?" he asked.

Elena nodded. Those were actually some of their better memories. "Yeah, I do" she told him. "I wish we could have that again" she said softly. And although it made her stomach sick to utter those words, she had to stay focused. "If you could ever forgive me for leaving you, and for marrying Stefan" she said, putting as much guilt behind her words as she could.

Derrick turned slightly to look at her. "All I have ever wanted was for us to be together. You knew that" he told her.

"Let's start over" Elena was quick to say. "You and me" she said, trying to control the desperation that was in her voice.

Derrick looked at her closely for a moment. "You want that? To be with me again?" he asked her. She nodded, trying to evaluate how serious he was about her idea. "You still love me?"

Elena nodded again. "I still love you, Derrick. I want to be with you" she told him, placing her hand over his.

He studied her for a moment. "Prove it" he told her. Elena looked at him cautiously. Before she knew it, his mouth was on hers and he was laying her down on the hard wood porch, forcing his tongue in her mouth and moving his hands up under her shirt.

Elena fought the urge to cry as thoughts of Stefan flashed through her mind. He would never look at her the same again if she slept with Derrick. She would never be able to look at herself again. "Derrick, wait" she said, pushing against his chest. Derrick tore his mouth away from her, looking down at her with such hate and anger. "I want to do things right this time, Derrick" she said, forcing her shaky voice to speak.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting up and allowing her to sit up too.

"Marriage" she stated. "I want to wait to have sex until we are married" she told him calmly. "We rushed things last time. Let's … take it slow this time. We have all the time we need."

Derrick's hard gaze turned into a gentle smile as he looked at her. "You want to marry me?" he asked, reaching his hand up to touch her face.

Elena nodded. "I do" she told him.

Derrick smiled even more. "Let's get married tomorrow" he told her with such eagerness.

But Elena shook her head. "I'm married to someone else" she reminded him. His eyes seemed to grow dark at the mention of this. "But, I want to divorce him, and then marry you. If we wait a few months, Stefan will forget all about me and want a divorce. He will do all the work and then we won't ever have to go back to Mystic Falls" she explained. Though she knew it was a lie. Stefan would never file for divorce while she was still missing.

She wasn't so sure that Derrick would agree to this, but she had to hope. "You will leave with me? Go anywhere I want to go and live the rest of your life with me?" he asked. He seemed to be in a daze as he watched her.

"Yes" Elena said, reaching her hand up to touch his face. "I want a life with you. Children, all of it" she added.

Derrick smiled. "We have a kid, in there" he said, nodding his head towards the cabin.

Elena smiled. "She's a great kid" Elena told him. "But, she's not ours. I want one of our own" she said, stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Derrick frowned. "Then what do we do with her?" Derrick asked.

"We give her back. Drop her off at a store or something so she can go back home" Elena told him. "I want our own baby. After we're married" she said, smiling even more.

Derrick smiled too. "Okay. I'll do anything it takes if it means I get to be with you the rest of my life" he told her.

"Tomorrow. Let's find a place to drop her off tomorrow so you and I can get our life started" she told him.

Derrick sighed. "Okay, Elena. But only because I trust you" he said, leaning in and kissing her. Elena accepted his kiss, feeling dirty and lousy at the same time. But, it was going to get Lily home. "Once we drop her off, we're going to West Virginia. The first place we will begin to start our life together" he told her. Elena gave him a fake smile and nodded. She'd never been to West Virginia, though he spent the next half an hour telling her all about it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is this the best you could do?" Katherine asked, standing in the door of the sleazy motel with her arms crossed.

"Don't start with me Katherine. I'm exhausted and really not in the mood" he told her.

Katherine huffed. "Isn't there a Four Season's around?" she asked. "Fairmont?" she added, thinking of the other expensive hotel she would stay in. "I'm really not that picky, but this?" she asked, waving her hand in disgust. "This is below a cheap hooker's standards" she finished.

"You would know" Stefan mumbled to himself, though, not quiet enough.

"What did you just say?" Katherine asked, walking into the room to make her point clear that she was not happy with him. "I am not cheap!" she said angrily.

Stefan turned around and glared at her. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed" he told her sarcastically. She glared even harder at him. "There are no other hotels around. Do you want to drive another hour to find something else?" he questioned. Katherine didn't argue and he figured he had won. "Sleep out in the car if you can't bring yourself to sleep in here" he added, tossing the covers up on the only bed in the small, dingy room.

"Fine" she said, crossing her arms again.

"And if you so much as think about touching me in this bed, I swear I will throw you out the window" he promised her, climbing in.

"I wouldn't dream of it" she said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder before grabbing a small bag and going into the bathroom.

When she emerged, Stefan had turned the light out on her and was facing away from her side of the bed. "I'm going to need to bathe myself in bleach when we get home to get all the germs off of me from this place" she said harshly, crawling into the bed with him.

Stefan scooted as far away from her as he could and sighed with annoyance. "Keep complaining, Katherine" he told her. "Because the real concern right now is your comfort" he added with a harsh bite to his tone.

Katherine huffed again. "What is your problem?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure you would never drag Elena to something this horrible" she reminded him.

Stefan sat up angrily. "And I'm pretty sure I would be with Elena right now if you had been doing your job and watching Lily!" he snapped at her. His words came out before he could stop them. The mattress moving told him that he had hurt her feelings. Yes, even Katherine had feelings. "Katherine" he said, but it was too late. She had opened the door and walked out. He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face. He was officially an ass. Elena would have disapproved of his comment.

Stefan finally pulled himself out of bed and luckily, Katherine hadn't gone too far. She was sitting on the stairs, looking up at the moon. She wondered if Lily was looking at it too, as she often did from her bedroom. Katherine heard the door open and click shut behind her. "Please, continue to tell me what a horrible mother I am" she told him.

Stefan sighed. "I was irritated and I'm exhausted. I didn't mean it" he told her.

Katherine laughed, though he could tell she was still hurt. "We don't say things unless we mean them, Stefan" she said. "I tried though, you know. To stop her. She doesn't listen to me. She never has" she added.

Stefan sat next to Katherine. "She doesn't listen to anyone" Stefan reassured her. Lily had a mind of her own and when she was determined to do something, she did it.

"She listens to you" Katherine said, looking over at Stefan.

"Sometimes" Stefan was quick to reply. "It would have happened to any of us. You, me, Damon" he told her. "Lily thought it was Elena. She was excited. She wouldn't have turned back for anyone" he added. That was the bond that Elena had so effortlessly created with Lily. The little girl idolized her. Elena was cool, even though she stood against everything Lily stood for. Elena didn't wear designer, unless Stefan bought her jewelry. Elena never wore a ton of makeup and her hair was usually in a ponytail. The paint on her nails was usually chipped and she lived in her flip flops. Yet, Lily couldn't get enough of her.

"I want to blame Elena so much for all of this" Katherine whispered. "But I know that she never wanted any of this. She never wanted to get the shit beat out of her and she never wanted Lily to be taken. Hell, she probably didn't even want to find Derrick to be with Lily" she said.

Stefan nodded. "I guarantee she didn't want to find Derrick" Stefan told her. "The night she told me about Derrick, about what he did to her. I've never seen someone so scared" he explained. "I know she blames herself for Derrick taking Lily. I also know she would do anything to protect her, whether Derrick is involved or not" he concluded.

"I want him dead, Stefan" she said, taking no mercy on him in her thoughts. "I want him to suffer first, to pay for everything he has done to this family. And then I want him dead, so he can't hurt us or anyone else again."

Stefan placed his hand on Katherine's back, rubbing it in a comforting manner. "He will pay" Stefan said, his tone full of promise. "When they get home safe, he will pay." Katherine nodded, looking back up at the moon again, wondering what Lily was doing. Wondering if she had gotten her bath and her bedtime story. Wondering if she missed her mom at all.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Derrick had gone out to get breakfast, promising to be right back. Elena took this time to prepare Lily for what was going to happen. Elena kneeled before Lily, tying her shoes quickly so they would be ready when Derrick got back and before he had time to change his mind about letting Lily go. "I have to talk to you about something" Elena said, her tone hushed just in case a pair of ears were listening in from outside.

"Are you taking me to the zoo?" Lily asked as her eyes lit up with excitement. She could go to the zoo every day and still be excited.

Elena shook her head sadly. "No. You're going home" she said.

Lily squealed with delight, jumping in place. "I can make Uncle Stefan take me to the zoo!" she said. Elena did her best to quiet her. "You too" she said. "Uncle Stefan will buy you one of those monkeys with the arms and legs that stick together. I'll tell him too. I always get one. You will love it too" she rambled.

"Lily" Elena said, stopping her. "I'm not going home with you" she told her firmly when really, all she wanted to do was cry. Elena wanted to go home too. She wanted to be swept away in Stefan's arms, have him kiss her and never let her go. But not before the little girl in front of her was safe and out of harm's way.

Lily's face showed her confusion. "Yes you are" Lily told her. "Uncle Stefan loves you. You gotta come home to him" she protested.

"And I will" Elena told her. "Just not right now. I need you to go home first" she began to explain.

But Lily stomped her little foot and shook her head. "No" she said, crossing her arms. "If you don't come with me, I'm not going" she stated. "You can't stay with the mean man by yourself. It's too scary" she insisted.

Elena placed her hands on the little girl's sides, looking her in the eyes. "I will be okay" Elena said, doing her best to reassure her. "The mean man is only going to let you go home. So, I need you to help your Uncle Stefan and your daddy come back and find me after they have you" she said. Lily's eyes locked on hers as they listened. "This is a very, very important task that I need you to do for me" Elena told her. "I only trust you to do it. Do you think you can?" she asked.

Lily's eyes again lit up with excitement. "I know I can" she said, her serious tone making her sound about five years older than she actually was.

"Okay, you have to listen closely" Elena told her. Lily nodded. "We are going to drop you off at a grocery store. You need to go inside and find someone who works there. Only someone with a uniform who works there" she emphasized. Lily nodded again. "You have to tell them your name and that you were kidnapped. They need to call the police so your family can come and get you." Lily again nodded. "Let's practice. Pretend I am someone who works at the store. What are you going to say to me?" Elena asked her.

Lily took a deep breath. "My name is Lily Elizabeth Salvatore and a mean man kidnapped me. I need to call the policeman so my mommy and daddy and Uncle Stefan can come get me" Lily said all in one breath.

Elena smiled nervously. "That's perfect" Elena told her. Then, she reached into her pocket and pulled out two items. The first was a folded up piece of paper. "I need you to give this note to your Uncle Stefan for me, okay?" she asked. "But don't tell anyone you have it, especially not the mean man" she told her. Lily nodded as Elena carefully slid the folded up note into the bottom of Lily's shoe. "And I also need you to give your Uncle Stefan this" Elena said, holding up her wedding ring. "Tell him to hold onto it until I come home." Elena slipped the ring into Lily's pocket. Then, she grabbed Lily's face with both hands and kissed her forehead. "I need you to be really brave, okay?" she asked, seeing the tears pool in Lily's eyes.

"But I don't wanna go home without you" Lily told her with a slight sniffle. "I don't want the mean man to hurt you while I'm gone" she added sadly.

"He won't hurt me" Elena lied. She knew all it would take was for one little thing to go wrong and Derrick would come undone. "And the sooner you go home, the sooner your Uncle Stefan and your daddy can find me" she reminded her.

Elena wiped a few tears off of Lily's cheeks. "And then you can come to the zoo with me and get a monkey at the gift shop?" she asked.

Elena smiled. "I will even buy you an ice cream cone" Elena promised her, seeing a hint of a smile on Lily.

"Okay" Lily mumbled, wrapping her arms around Elena's neck. "I'm gonna miss you though" she said.

Elena hugged Lily right back. "I'm gonna miss you too" she told her, holding her own tears back. Elena held her for a little while longer until she heard voices outside. Derrick was back. Elena pulled away from Lily and rid the rest of her face of tears.

Derrick came in through the door with a white bag. "Donuts" he said, holding it up. "Are you ready to drop her off?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Let's go" she said, grabbing Lily's hand. Derrick offered Lily a donut as she and Elena walked by him, but she just glared at him, refusing to accept it. Lily loved donuts, but not from a man who was going to keep her Aunt Elena.

"Suit yourself" Derrick replied, taking a bite of his donut as he followed them out.

Elena was sure that Derrick had given the man outside the cabin instructions about something or other. She glanced at him momentarily before pulling Lily along. Derrick had to walk quickly to keep up.

Elena noticed that Lily was falling back slightly as Elena continued to walk with her. "Aunt Elena my feet are tired" she began to whine. It was a long walk to the car for a little girl who had been kept in such horrible conditions.

"I can carry her" Derrick offered in his attempt to be a good guy in his newly reformed relationship with Elena.

Lily wasn't going to have it. "No!" she said harshly. Derrick stepped forward, showing her that he would not back down. Lily moved forward too, attempting to kick him right in the crotch and barely missing him. He flinched out of instinct.

"Lily" Elena said harshly, grabbing her and swinging her up on her hip. "Stop it" Elena warned. The last thing she needed was for Lily to ruin her chance at going home. "She didn't mean it" Elena told Derrick apologetically.

"I did too" Lily said, glaring at Derrick as Elena carried her. "You're a mean man" she told him.

"Lily, stop" Elena warned again. "Let's play the silent game. The winner gets ice cream" she whispered into her ear. Lily remained silent but she continued to glare at Derrick.

"She's got spunk" Derrick noted.

"And you just lost, Loser" Lily told him. He glared at her. Elena again told her to be quiet and restarted the game.

Elena remained silent, just wanting to get to the car. Once they were there, Elena buckled Lily into the back seat who had still remained silent since calling Derrick out on losing. The drive to the closest grocery store took half an hour. Once they had parked in the parking lot, way in the back, Elena went to get out of the car. "No. You stay. She goes alone" he told her.

Elena looked back at Lily who looked nervous. "She can't walk across the parking lot by herself" Elena insisted.

"She either goes alone, or she doesn't go at all" Derrick warned.

Elena reached back and squeezed Lily's knee. "Go on Lily" she said, encouraging her. Lily shook her head no. "Brave, remember?" she asked. Lily nodded this time. "Go ahead."

"I love you" Lily said, unbuckling herself and moving forward to hug Elena. "Don't forget about the ice cream at the zoo" she whispered into her ear.

Elena nodded. "I won't" she whispered back, kissing her hair. "Be careful when you walk across the parking lot. Look for cars and make sure they wave you across" she instructed.

"Okay" Lily said, moving away from Elena and opening the door. She looked at Elena one last time before hopping out of the car.

Elena watched Lily quickly walk across the parking lot and finally, enter the store. Lily stopped and waved to Elena as Derrick began to pull away. Elena waved back, feeling both anxious and relieved at the same time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Katherine cursed. They still had had no luck in finding any clues as to where Lily or Elena were, and they had been searching for four hours that morning already. "There's gotta be something we are missing" she said, looking at the map. The cabins they had looked at were a bust. All were locked up and hadn't been used.

"There's another set of fishing cabins on the other side of the lake" Stefan told her, getting back into his car with her. He pulled off of the dirt road and got back onto the highway. Twenty minutes later, he was parked in another area of woods. When they got out, he looked around, seeing a small road going further into the woods that was inaccessible to vehicles. Katherine got out and looked around too.

"Stefan!" she shrieked. Stefan turned to see her bent down, picking something up. He looked at her questionably. "Lily's earring" she told him, her eyes wide as she held the small gold earring between her fingers. Stefan recognized it. It was the letter L with an S engraved into it. Before Stefan could even react, Katherine was running down the small road leading back towards the woods. "Lily!" she screamed, searching around her. "Lily!"

It took Stefan less than a minute to catch up to her, his arms coming around her waist as he picked her up and put his hand over her mouth. "Shhh" he told her. "We don't want anyone to know we are here" he reminded her. Katherine nodded and Stefan slowly set her back down on her feet. "Come on" he whispered, beginning to walk.

His heartbeat was running wild as he scanned the area. Katherine was hot on his heels, doing the same. It took them almost ten minutes to reach the end of the road and to find a dirty old fishing cabin. Stefan stopped her when he saw someone patrolling around the cabin. It wasn't Derrick, but who the hell would be out there by themselves? Stefan and Katherine were behind a tree a safe distance away. "Distract him" Stefan whispered to her.

She nodded, knowing exactly what she needed to do. She was scared as hell, but the fact that Lily could be in that cabin drove her forward. "Excuse me!" she called out. The man whipped around and faced her. "I'm so sorry to bother you. I was driving and my car broke down. Thank God you're here" she told him in desperation. "Do you have a phone I could borrow by any chance?" she asked.

The man shifted his weight uneasily. "Yeah, sure" he told her, taking out a phone.

Katherine thanked him and grabbed it, scrolling through his contacts quickly as she pretended to make a call. The last name listed was Derrick. Anger ran through her veins as she pretended to place a call. She watched the man turn away from her. As soon as he turned back around, Katherine's foot had come up and kicked him hard in his crotch, sending him down on the ground.

"Crazy bitch" he muttered, attempting to stand.

"Where's my daughter?" Katherine demanded. She kicked him again and he cried out in pain. "Where is she?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about" he cried.

It was then that Stefan had run up, grabbing him and picking him up. "Where's my wife and my niece?" Stefan demanded. If his stare could kill, the man wouldn't have stood a chance.

The man just smirked with what energy he had left. "Got to hell" he told Stefan, resulting in Stefan throwing him hard against the ground. His head bounced off of the dirt and he went out cold. Stefan ran to the cabin and found the door open. Katherine was right behind him. He held a finger up to his lips as they quietly went inside. It appeared empty.

"Lily?" Katherine called out, not being able to contain herself anymore. Her face was stained with tears all of a sudden. They listened and nothing. They searched the entire cabin and nothing. "Where is she?" Katherine cried in desperation.

"Not here" Stefan said, kicking a chair. But it appeared that they had been. "Come on" he said, dragging her back outside. The man was still out cold when Katherine's phone rang out.

"Hello?" she asked, struggling to hear anything over the crackling of her dimming reception. She listened for a moment before she turned to face Stefan, her mouth hanging open wide. She dropped her phone, not bothering to end the call. "They've got her" she said, her tears returning. "Lily is at the police station" she said, a huge smile of relief falling across her face as she placed her hand over her heart, trying to slow down her heartbeat.

She fell into Stefan's arms, continuing to cry. "She's okay. She's okay" Katherine repeated. Then she pulled away suddenly. "We have to go, now" she demanded.

Stefan turned and picked up the unconscious man, slinging him over his shoulder as he tried to keep up with Katherine. The man obviously knew something about Derrick. Stefan wasn't going to let him get away with aiding him.

**A/N: So, what are your thoughts? **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This was hard to write, but it needed to be written. Please let me know what you think : ) Thank you for the reviews last update. It is clear to me that Derrick is evil and Elena needs to come home. I love your enthusiasm and investment for this story. You guys seriously rock.**

It didn't matter how many times they told Katherine that she needed to wait at the front before she could go back to see Lily. Hell, it didn't even matter how many people tried to stop her as she ran back there anyways. She dodged every single one of the officers. As she checked every window to every room, she nearly fell to the ground in tears when she saw Lily sitting at an over-sized table in a small room, coloring.

Lily looked up from the piece of paper she was coloring on and gave her mom a great big smile before scooting off of her chair and going to open the door. Katherine was almost paralyzed until Lily demanded she be picked up. "Baby" Katherine cried, hugging her so tight that even Lily began to protest.

"Did you miss me?" Lily asked, prying her face away from her mother's deadly grip.

Katherine didn't bother to hide her tears. She tucked Lily's dirty, messy hair behind her ears and forced herself to smile. "I missed you more than anything" she told her. "I was so worried about you."

"Don't worry Mommy, Elena took good care of me" she told Katherine. Katherine's face fell at the mention of Elena, who, she guessed, was not at the police station with Lily. "But the mean man still has her Mommy" Lily said, frowning.

"It's okay Baby. You're safe now" Katherine said, rocking her gently. Every horrible thing that could have happened to Lily was running through Katherine's mind. She kissed Lily about a hundred times before Lily again protested.

Stefan had been a little easier to detain, for the time being. He was more distracted than Katherine had been. When the police had called, they stated they had Lily. There was no mention of Elena. So when he finally made his way to the back and found Lily and Katherine alone, his heart sank into his stomach. Elena wasn't there.

"Uncle Stefan!" Lily squealed, squirming out of her mother's arms and making a full run for him.

Stefan grabbed her and hugged her so tight, saying silent prayers that she was safe. "I'm so glad to see you, sweetheart" Stefan whispered into her ear, holding back his tears. He looked ahead and saw what a mess Katherine was. "Lily, where's Elena?" he asked, not being able to resist asking.

Lily pulled away from Stefan and frowned. "The mean man still has her" she said sadly. Stefan nodded, kissing her and letting her know that it was okay to tell him. He watched as Lily reached down into her pocket, pulling something out. "She wanted me to give this to you" Lily said, holding out Elena's wedding ring for him to see. "She says you got to hold on to it for her until she comes back." As much as Stefan wanted to be strong for Lily, he couldn't. Not anymore. Not knowing that the love of his life was still with the man she feared most. Not knowing if she was okay.

Stefan took the ring from Lily's small hand, his fingers shaking the entire time. He stared at the ring for a minute as the moment he had given the ring to Elena flashed through his mind. "Thank you" he whispered, smiling at Lily as best as he could through his tears. His hand enclosed around Elena's ring as he finally broke down completely, burying his face into Lily as he cried. He wanted Elena. He wanted her with him so he knew she was safe.

Lily grabbed his face finally with both of her little hands and got her face as close to him as possible. "Don't cry Uncle Stefan" Lily said softly. "Elena said to be brave. She said she's gonna be okay until you go and find her" Lily told him.

Stefan nodded, pressing his lips against her forehead. "I'm gonna find her" he promised Lily.

Katherine approached, placing her hand on Lily's back. "You gots to hurry though Uncle Stefan" Lily told him. "He's a mean man. He hit her Uncle Stefan. Your not supposed to hit a girl but he hit her" Lily said angrily.

Anger flashed through Stefan's eyes. Derrick was going to die a death ten times more painful than the one Stefan had already planned for him. "Did he hurt you?" Katherine asked, rubbing Lily's back in a soothing manner.

Lily shook her head. "No. He tried to but Elena wouldn't let him" she said, looking back at her mom briefly. Then she turned back to look at Stefan. "So the mean man hit her instead" she told him.

The lines in Stefan's face became more defined as the anger inside of him turned up another notch. "Mrs. Salvatore. May we speak with you?" an officer said from behind them. Stefan nodded, letting Katherine know that he had Lily.

"I'll be right back Baby" Katherine said, kissing her hand.

"Okay Mommy but will you bring me back Peanut Butter Cups?" she asked.

Katherine smiled, still overwhelmed. "Yes, I will find you some" she assured her, giving Stefan one more look before following the officer.

"I got something else for you" Lily whispered, reaching down into her shoe. "Aunt Elena said only you get to see this" she added, pulling out the folded piece of paper and handing it to him. Stefan took the note from Lily with his shaky fingers.

"Thank you" he told her.

"I told Elena about the monkeys at the zoo. You know, the ones in the gift shop with the hands and feet that stick together" she reminded him, clapping her hands together for added effect. Stefan nodded. He always, always bought her one of those monkeys. Sometimes two if she couldn't decide which one she wanted. "She wants one too. And she promised me she was gonna buy me an ice cream at the zoo too" she added.

"We'll make sure Elena gets a monkey" Stefan said, a small smile forming at his niece's adorableness while his heart still clenched in pain. Because right then in that moment, he wanted to take Elena to the zoo more than anything. Stefan's phone began buzzing in his pocket and Stefan shifted Lily to one arm as he searched for his phone. When he took it out and saw that it was Damon, he groaned inwardly. "Hi Damon" he said, then pulled his phone away from his ear as Damon let out a string of not so nice words in his native Italian.

A minute later, when Damon sounded out of breath, Damon addressed his brother. "Katherine just called. I will deal with you when I see you" he said angrily.

"Here" Stefan said, handing is phone to Lily.

Lily smiled brightly as she grabbed her uncle's phone. She loved talking on the phone. "Hi Daddy!" she said excitedly into the phone.

"Lily?" Damon asked, his heart skipping dramatically when he heard her cheerful voice on the other end of Stefan's phone. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Yep I am" she told him. "Are you coming to see me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to leave right now" he promised her. "You stay with your mom and Uncle Stefan until I get there okay?" he told her.

"Okay Daddy I will" she promised. "Can you bring me cookies?" she asked.

Damon smiled on his end of the phone as he closed his eyes. His perfect, sweet, innocent child. She had just been through a horrible experience and she was being a trooper. "Yeah, Baby. I'll bring you cookies" he told her. "I love you and I will be there soon. Give your uncle back the phone."

"Okay I love you Daddy. Bye bye" she said, handing Stefan back the phone. "Don't take too long Uncle Stefan. I want to play Angry Birds" she told him.

"You hear that?" Stefan asked. "Your daughter wants to play Angry Birds, so I have to go" he stated.

"I'll see you in an hour" Damon said irritated before hanging up.

Stefan handed Lily his phone again and she went to work on finding the game. Then, she continued where she left off with her high score. Stefan sat down, Lily in his lap as she played. Katherine was gone another ten minutes before she made her way back to Stefan and Lily. "Damon's not happy" Katherine said, sitting next to them.

"He'll survive" Stefan told her. "He'll be here in an hour" he added. Katherine nodded, not looking forward to seeing him knowing he would be upset. "Hey, sit with your mom for a minute. I need to go outside and get some fresh air" he said, placing Lily in Katherine's lap as he stood. Lily was too invested in her game to notice she had moved. Katherine wrapped her arms around Lily as she watched Stefan leave.

Stefan found a bench outside and sat down, taking his note from Elena out. He stared at it for a moment, deciding whether he wanted to read it then or not. But, he decided he needed to. He slowly unfolded it.

_Stefan,_

_I don't have a lot of time to write this, but I needed to tell you that I am okay. Please, just make sure Lily is taken care of and safe before you begin to worry about me._

Stefan tore his eyes away from the note as his tears began to fall from his eyes once again. Damn her. Always thinking about others and never about herself. If there was one thing he could say was her fault, that would be it. Stefan quickly wiped at his eyes, removing the rest of the tears so he could continue reading.

_Derrick told me he was taking me to West Virginia. I know he probably only told me this because he knew I would tell Lily and it would get back to you. I think he will take me the opposite direction, toward Georgia. I know he had family near Savannah at one point, so he may have a house down there for us. I also don't know if he will keep the same vehicle, but it is a black 1999 Chevy Blazer, license plate # 5HKW812. I hope this information gives you something to go on._

Stefan again pulled the letter away, but he felt relieved this time. She had a lot of hope that he was going to come and find her.

_Finally, I hope you understand why I did what I did. And if I had to do it again, I would change nothing. I did what I had to do for our family. _

_I love you, Stefan. I love you so much. I will be okay. I promise._

_Elena_

Stefan quickly folded up the piece of paper and wiped at fresh tears. He wanted Elena and he wanted her now. The thought of Derrick hitting her was almost enough to cause him to rip the bench from the ground and throw it across the parking lot. Stefan had promised her that the life she had had with Derrick was over, and yet her she was, stuck with Derrick once again.

Stefan tried to shake the anger that was still built up inside of him. He had to inform the police of Elena's note and prepare to make the long drive to Georgia.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan held Lily as Damon came into the police station. He had no idea how his brother was going to react and he needed Lily as a buffer just in case. Katherine avoided Damon's eyes as he ran towards them. "Lily" he said, his voice full of relief as Lily got off of Stefan and ran towards her dad. Damon picked her up and held her close. "Are you okay?" he asked, checking her from head to foot to make sure she was.

"I'm all good Daddy" Lily assured him. "Did you bring me cookies?" she asked. She still had chocolate on her lips from the candy Katherine had given her.

"I did" he smiled, kissing her four times. "I'm taking you to lunch first and then you can have the cookies" he informed her.

Lily shook her head no. "Cookies first!" she demanded.

"Listen to your dad" came Stefan's voice from behind them.

Damon glared at him before walking towards Katherine. "Watch her. My brother and I are going to have a little chat" he said, informing them both. Katherine grabbed Lily and gave her a mint from her purse, distracting Lily for the time being.

Stefan silently followed Damon outside and barely made it out the front door before Damon had Stefan shoved up against the wall. "What the hell were you thinking dragging my wife with you on this little rescue mission of yours, huh?" he asked angrily. "It was stupid and dangerous and reckless" he hissed.

Stefan shoved Damon off of him easily. "I got your daughter back. That's what I did!" Stefan yelled at him. "Meanwhile, my wife is still with that psychopath who hit her in front of Lily!" he added, just as angrily. Damon looked utterly repulsed by what Stefan had just told him. "So excuse me for trying to get shit done, Damon. I'm sorry I can't just sit around and wait for other people to save my family."

Damon glared at his brother again. "The police are doing their jobs, Stefan" Damon told him. "So you're going to come back home with us and keep yourself out of harm's way. The last thing Elena needs is for you to get hurt" he reminded Stefan. God only knew what Derrick would do if he saw Stefan.

"I'm not going home. I'm going to Savannah to save my wife" Stefan informed him. "You take your family home" he added, leaving his brother where he was, confused, as he went to his car. He was going to get Elena. Whether or not she was in Georgia, he was going to find her. And get rid of Derrick once and for all.

Stefan had barely made it to his car before he heard a shrilling cry that could have only come from his niece. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to see Lily running across the parking lot, her arms out in front of her. "Uncle Stefan!" Lily cried out again, wrapping her arms around his leg. "Don't leave me" she said, her crocodile tears taking over.

Stefan peeled her off of his leg and picked her up. He held her close, kissing the side of her head repeatedly as he whispered soothing words into her ear. "I need to leave, Lily. I have to go and find Elena" he reminded her.

Lily sniffled. "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"As long as I have to be and not a minute longer" he promised. "I need you to do something for me" he told her. Lily nodded. "I need you to make Elena a picture so she has a present when she gets home" he told her.

Lily nodded again. "I can make her the best picture she has ever seen" Lily assured him.

"Good" Stefan said, kissing her one last time before walking her back to her awaiting parents. "Listen to your mom and dad" he said, handing Lily back to Damon.

"Be careful" Lily whispered, kissing his forehead like he did to her so many times. "I love you."

"I love you too" he told her, reciprocating her kiss. Stefan turned and walked away again. He could hear Lily talking to her parents as he left. As much as he had missed her and wanted to spend every minute with her, Elena needed him. He needed Elena.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena sat quietly in the passenger seat as she watched a sign for Savannah Georgia pass by. Elena had been right. Derrick wasn't taking her to West Virginia. "I thought we were going to West Virginia" Elena mentioned as she continued to look out the window.

Derrick smiled at her. "You think I'm an idiot?" Derrick asked her. Elena didn't answer, but yes, she did think he was. "I figure you told that little brat, what was her name, Lindsey?" he asked. "That I was taking you to West Virginia. But no, Baby. We're going to Savannah" he informed her.

Elena let herself smile, though she didn't show him. Stefan was headed right for there. She was sure that he would listen to what she said in her note. "Can we stop to use the bathroom?" she asked.

Derrick checked his watch. "Fine. We'll grab lunch too" he replied. Elena noticed that he was much less friendly since dropping Lily off. He was nervous almost and Elena wondered why. He was usually so confident.

Derrick pulled off the highway and into some diner parking lot about half an hour later. The diner was small and aside from the few older gentlemen sitting at the counter, it was deserted. Elena went straight to the bathroom.

When Elena came out, Derrick was sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee and waiting for their food. Elena sat next to him and the waiter smiled at her from behind the counter. "Can I get you anything?" he asked politely.

Elena smiled back, enjoying the first pleasant interaction she had had in a few days. "Can I get an iced tea please?" she asked.

"To go" Derrick said, the irritancy evident in his voice.

"Coming right up" the young man said, ignoring Derrick's tone and smiling at Elena once again.

"Do you have to flirt with every guy you see?" Derrick asked angrily as he shot a warning glance over at Elena.

"I was just being polite" Elena told him. Elena felt his hand on her leg, gripping it tightly. "You're hurting me" Elena said quietly quietly with her own warning tone.

"Then stop being a whore" he shot at her. He let her go and Elena rubbed her leg, wondering what the mark would look like.

When they got back outside, Derrick looked around before shoving Elena into the side of the vehicle, causing her to drop her drink and cry out slightly when she felt her head hit to door. "Don't ever, EVER let me catch you flirting with another man, do you understand me?" he asked, pushing Elena harder into the door as he looked into her terrified eyes. "Do you understand me?" he repeated, slamming her into the truck once again.

"Yes" Elena nodded, her voice shaking as she felt the first trickle of blood roll down her temple.

Derrick's hateful glare pierced her eyes one last time before he let her go. "Get in the car" he ordered, leaving her and walking to the driver's side to get in. Elena did get in, though her shaking fingers fumbled with the handle on the door. She remained quiet as Derrick pulled out of the parking lot, feeling herself falling closer and closer to the withdrawn, submissive state she used to be in when she was with Derrick before. Because it kept her alive.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Eight hours. Stefan had been driving for eight hours after having gotten little sleep in the hotel with Katherine the previous night. But Elena invaded his every thought and this kept him driving. It was dark by the time Stefan arrived, so he found a hotel. He was in constant contact with a guy he had hired who was trying to track Derrick's vehicle. Stefan had no idea how he was going to find Elena otherwise, but he knew he would. He would start at one end of Savannah and check every inch of the city until he reached the other end. He would check the surrounding areas too. He would search for as long as it took.

"Hold on, Elena. Hold on" he whispered as he lay in the uncomfortable bed that night. He was planning on getting up at six the next morning and starting his search. As he lay in bed, his mind was flooded of memories of her, and he was okay with that. It would put him to sleep, and give him the encouragement he needed right now. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to get to sleep. He knew that Elena would be nagging him to sleep if she were there with him.

"_Go to sleep" Elena had told him, grabbing his book and taking it from him. "You have an important meeting tomorrow" she reminded, brushing his messy hair out of his eyes. He needed a haircut. She reached over and kissed his cheek, but he had other ideas._

_He always did. "I know what would help me sleep" he whispered as he pulled her on top of him, kissing her the way he wanted her to be kissed. Passionately and with need. His hands ran across her back, pulling her closer._

_Elena kissed him back, finding it hard to say no to him when he was so persuasive. But she was not engaging in the activity he was proposing. She peeled her lips away from his finally when he tried taking her shirt off. "Not tonight. You need to go to sleep. Now" she told him. His long, drawn out whine did nothing to change her mind. "Tomorrow, when you get home. I promise" she said, placing her hand on his chest. He sighed and then proceeded to pout. Elena now knew where Lily got it from. "Lily has your same cute pout" she smiled, tracing her finger along his pouting lips before climbing off of him and going back to her side of the bed. She turned the light off and Stefan rolled away from her. Elena laughed as she moved to his side of the bed and wrapped her arms around him, pulling his back against her. "I love you" she whispered, kissing his shoulder. _

_Stefan sighed, because the longest he could ever stand to ignore her was about 30 seconds. He turned around and faced her. "Tomorrow. You. Me. Naked" he reminded her. Elena nodded, accepting his kiss goodnight. He wrapped her in his arms, both naturally finding that mold they had created where her head was tucked in between his neck and shoulder and her one leg rested in between both of his. They ended up like that every night. _

And Stefan never wanted that to change, because lying in bed alone in that hotel, he had never felt so lonely. So broken.

**A/N: Stefan is getting closer … I wonder how this will all play out. See you next update!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Yes, Derrick is evil. Hope you all enjoy this update! Let me know what you think!**

Stefan emerged from the shower, not bothering to dry his hair as he let the droplets of water hit his shoulders and run down his chest and back before disappearing under the towel tied around his waist. He never usually bothered with wearing a towel around the house, knowing that his nakedness outside of the bed still made Elena blush. It was cute and innocent and sweet and the thought of it made his heart hurt, knowing that she was still missing.

He downed his second cup of coffee before picking his clothes up off of the floor from the night before and putting them on. He brushed his teeth, ran his hands through his sure to be messy hair, and popped in a piece of gum to hold him over. Breakfast just didn't sound good at that moment. He checked his phone. Still no call about Derrick's vehicle.

Stefan punched in the number he had memorized and waited impatiently for the person on the other end to pick up. "Have you found his vehicle yet?" Stefan's voice barked into the phone. Stefan listened for a few moments before closing his eyes. "Of course he dumped it" he groaned. Apparently, Derrick wasn't as stupid as Stefan had hoped he would be. "So what now?" Stefan asked. Now that they couldn't track Derrick and Elena by vehicle. Again, more disappointment. "Sorry isn't going to find my wife now is it?" Stefan barked again before hanging up. Derrick and Elena could be anywhere by this point. And Stefan was back to square one.

He grabbed his wallet and keys, intent on going out and looking. Where, he didn't know. Maybe start in the city and then venture outside of it. As he walked towards the door, he caught sight of a shadow walking first by his door outside and then coming to stand to the side of it by the window. Stefan reached for the door handle and pushed the door open, intending to beat the crap out of whomever was lingering. Stefan came flying out of his room and grabbed the person, pinning the guy against the wall. His anger and surprise was evident as his heart continued to beat wildly in his chest. "What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, letting Damon go.

"Looking for you" Damon told him, brushing out the winkles that Stefan put in his newly pressed jacket.

Stefan turned around and placed his hands on the railing, looking out at the rising sun to calm himself. "I told you I'm not going home until I find Elena" he said, holding back his temper that was threatening to make an appearance.

"I know" Damon said, approaching him and standing next to him. "I'm here to help" he added. Stefan looked over at him cautiously. "Elena is probably the only reason Lily is home safe" he said, turning to look at his brother. "I owe her" he said.

"Where are Lily and Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"In New York with Zach. They left last night" Damon answered. "Right now, we need to go to the airport" he said, walking away from his brother.

"Airport? Why?" Stefan asked. Elena wasn't going to be at an airport.

"To pick up Alaric. You didn't think he would let you do this alone too, did you?" Damon smirked, descending down the stairs and heading towards his car. Stefan followed, seeing no other choice.

Damon was pretty peppy for having just driven all night. He sang along with the radio, talked about the weather, anything to try and distract Stefan from his deep brooding moments. Finally, they made it to the airport, a horrible twenty minutes later. Alaric was waiting curbside for them when they pulled up. Stefan got out to greet him.

Alaric pulled him into a giant hug and could care less if Stefan wanted one or not. "We'll get her back" Alaric told him, sounding a hell of a lot more confident that Stefan was feeling. Stefan nodded and pulled away from the hug. "Come on" Alaric told him, nodding towards the car.

They were sitting down at breakfast, discussing a plan of action. Damon and Alaric couldn't agree, meanwhile Stefan wanted to walk out and leave them. "We should check all the hotels in the area" Damon had suggested.

"No, we need to check all of the recently rented properties" Alaric argued. "He's probably looking at staying here long-term if Elena mentioned he was coming here."

As they continued to argue, Stefan stood up and left without a word. Damon and Alaric looked at each other briefly before sighing. "He shouldn't be the one looking for her. He's too invested and it's going to get him hurt" Damon said, running his hands through his hair.

Alaric disagreed. "No, he needs to be the one to save her. It's the only way he's going to stop feeling so guilty" Alaric said, standing up to go and find his friend.

Stefan walked fast, not wanting his brother or friend to catch up to him to talk. Stefan was done talking. Too much talking and not enough action. It was almost 8 AM. The day was half wasted by this point in his opinion.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena ran her fingers over the cut above her eye, wincing as she did. It was bruised and it looked just as bad as it hurt. She ran a wet cloth over it, biting her lip to keep from crying out as she scrubbed at the dried blood.

A knock on the bathroom door made her jump. "Hurry up!" Derrick yelled at her. "We have to go" he informed her. Elena took a long, shaky breath as she rinsed off her wet cloth and set it aside. They had been in this hotel room since the night before. It was nearing dark now. She opened the door and was met by Derrick's scowl. He studied her face momentarily. "What happened?" he asked, challenging her.

Whatever fight Elena had left in her was now gone. "I fell" she answered submissively.

Derrick nodded. "That's right. Now come on, we need to get to the house before dark" he said, grabbing her arm forcefully and dragging her. He opened the hotel door and was about to walk out when he heard arguing outside in front of the neighboring room. Derrick didn't have to guess who it was. Elena's face told him all he needed to know. Derrick grabbed for his gun and eased the door closed, warning Elena not to make a sound as they hid in the room and listened.

Her heart sunk, hearing Stefan's voice just outside the door. He had listened to her note. He had come to Savannah to look for her. The only thing that kept her from screaming was the gun sitting in Derrick's hand. She didn't want him to hurt Stefan. Or, Damon. She could hear Damon too.

"We wasted the entire day!" she heard Stefan's muffled voice yell. There were a few more words she couldn't understand before she heard Damon.

"No, we came up with a plan!" Damon yelled back. "Elena could be anywhere. You're never going to find her by running around Savannah!" he reminded his brother. "So go inside, get some sleep, and wake up with a better attitude so we can start fresh tomorrow."

It went silent for a moment and Elena stood stalk still, waiting for Stefan and Damon to disperse. But there was no indication that anyone was going to move. Then, Stefan's voice came out, strained. She knew he was trying hard not to cry. "I just … I can't do this anymore, Damon" Stefan said. "It hurts too much. It hurts too damn much not knowing where she is or if she is alright. I feel physically sick right now thinking about her being trapped with that monster" Stefan choked out.

Elena knew he was crying now. And so was she. She wanted so badly to walk out that door and bring him close. She wanted to hold him and tell him that it was going to be okay. "Stefan" she heard herself whisper so quietly, not even Derrick could hear her.

"I'm sorry Stefan. I'm sorry you're hurting. And I promise you, we will get Elena back" she heard Damon say. "But you have got to take better care of yourself, or you're not going to be of any help to Elena" he reminded. "Like I said, go inside and sleep. We'll start looking at hotels in the morning that they might be at" Damon said. His footsteps disappeared down the walkway and they heard a door open and close. Then Stefan's door opened and closed.

Derrick cracked the door open and looked out. He waited what seemed like forever before grabbing Elena's arm and dragging her outside. Elena felt the gun being pressed into her side as he forced her to walk down the steps. She knew Derrick was pissed by the grip he had on her arm.

He opened the door on the older blue truck he purchased just before they hit Savannah. He shoved Elena inside as he went to the driver's side. He started the truck and began to pull out of the parking lot as Elena looked out her window up at Stefan's room.

Alaric came out of the hotel lobby with a bag of Skittles, hoping that Stefan and Damon were done with their brotherly banter. He checked his phone, seeing that he had a text from Caroline. It made him smile as he opened it. It was a sweet message about how she missed him and how she hoped they were making progress on finding Elena. He began to reply when a blue truck came flying from out of nowhere, almost running him over as he was crossing the parking lot. "Watch it Jackass!" Alaric yelled as the truck passed.

And that's when he saw her. Elena, with a surprised look on her face, staring at him as the truck passed. "Elena?" Alaric said almost in shock. He dropped his phone and his Skittles as he took off running after the truck. "Elena!" he yelled again, sprinting as the truck pulled out of the parking lot. "Hey! HEY!" he yelled, stopping to catch his breath. He bent down and picked up a rock, chucking it at the back window and watching it bounce off. Alaric got his hands up on top of his head as he bent over and breathed. Then, he turned around and took off for Stefan's room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Derrick continued to look behind him, paranoid that they were being followed. He had turned off of the main road and onto back roads just in case. He was silent, and Elena didn't say a word. But inside, she felt relief. Relief that Stefan was close. She meant enough to him for him to come looking for her.

Derrick turned down a long gravel road about half an hour later, cutting the headlights so no one could see them. Elena had to squint in the dark to see the house up ahead. When Derrick pulled the truck around the back, he cut the engine and got out. Elena remained where she was until he opened her door and pulled her out. He still didn't speak as he broke the lock on the back door and opened it, pushing her inside the house. For some reason, she didn't think this was a family member's house. It looked abandoned.

He pushed Elena again and she stumbled over the rug and fell to the floor. When she turned herself around, Derrick was standing over her. "You lied to me" he said. Although she couldn't see his face in the dark house, she knew he was angry. He bent down and grabbed her arms, picking her up and slamming her back into the wall behind her. "You said you loved me! You said you wanted to start over with me!" he yelled angrily at her. Elena felt tears erupt from her eyes as he shook her, demanding for an answer. "I saw the look on your face when you heard Stefan! You still want to be with him!" he yelled again, slamming his hand into the wall next to her left ear.

Elena closed her eyes and silently prayed. "Stop it" she said desperately. The fear, the pain. It was all too much for her anymore.

Derrick flipped the light on next to her and she saw the anger flash across his face. "You told me all those lies so I would let that little brat go, didn't you?" he demanded to know, pushing her harder up against the wall.

The mention of Lily sent a surge of anger through Elena. The conditions he had kept Lily in. The moment when he had tried to hit her. She was angry, and the look on his face told her that he knew this. "Yes!" Elena yelled. She used all the strength she had left to shove Derrick off of her, and although he only stumbled a step back, she never felt more free, standing up for herself. "I did what I had to do to protect my family!" she yelled at him as the tears streamed down her face. "I hate you! I hate everything about you! And there is nothing that brings me more pleasure than knowing that no matter what happens to me, Stefan will find you and he will kill you!" she shouted at him. "Because he loves me. He loves me more than you ever could!"

She was breathing rapidly now, her eyes penetrating his. He looked oddly calm, and she was trying to gage what his reaction would be. For five minutes, they stood there, staring at one another. Then he spoke softly. "He's ruined you" Derrick said, almost sadly. "He's turned you against me. Even if I were to kill him, you would never be able to be fixed" he said, tilting his head to the side and frowning at her. "It saddens me, Elena. Because I really do love you. But I can't be with you if you don't remember that you love me too."

Elena took a step back, feeling the wall press up against her back once more. "So let me go" she whispered with a shaky breath.

Derrick shook his head no. "If I can't have you, no one can" he said. Elena watched him closely as he reached out and grabbed her arm. Elena tried to yank it away, but he was stronger. And angrier. She prepared to hit him when the back of his hand slapped her across her face, sending her body limp from both the pain and the shock of it all. Derrick reached down and grabbed her, and although she continued to struggle, he was able to drag her to the bottom level of the house.

Elena felt herself being shoved into a tiny room with no windows. She assumed it had been used as a laundry room at one point. The room was empty with a concrete floor. No food, no water. Not even a blanket. She could feel the cold air coming in from the tiny vent. "I'm sorry Elena, but this is where we have to say goodbye for good" Derrick told her. He walked towards her and Elena backed away from him. "Things were supposed to be different" he said, looking at her thoughtfully.

"Go to hell" Elena said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe one day" Derrick smiled at her. "But not today. Goodbye Elena" he said, turned and exiting the small room. She heard him lock the door and then the rattle of chains sounded along with another click. He had locked her in, and she wasn't getting out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They had stopped at a gas station after Alaric had come bursting through Stefan's hotel door, panting from being out of breath and sputtering out what he had seen. Derrick driving away with Elena in a beat up blue truck.

Stefan had gone into a rage at the fact that Alaric had not been able to grab Elena out of the truck. So much so that Damon had had to pull Stefan off of Alaric and then after Alaric got mad, had to pull Alaric off of Stefan.

So instead of sleeping, they were up and driving around looking for Derrick's blue truck. They had checked every hotel around having discovered that Derrick had paid cash for the same hotel they had been staying at.

As Damon was filling up his car, Stefan was standing next to him, leaning against the car. His worst fear was that Derrick had skipped town. They would have no way of knowing which way he went. "She was staying right next to my room" Stefan said, and Damon knew that Stefan was beating himself up over it.

"Every available officer in the area is out there looking for Derrick's truck" Damon reminded him, choosing to ignore his brother's guilty conscience for the moment.

Stefan kicked a rocked sitting next to him. "I just don't want her to think I've given up on her" Stefan sighed. Because he wouldn't.

"She saw Alaric" Damon reminded him. "She knows you're not giving up" Damon added, putting the gas pump back and screwing on the lid.

Alaric emerged from the inside of the store with three coffees and a bag of stale muffins. "All they had left" Alaric said. Stefan took his coffee and finished it in four big gulps, hoping it would kick in soon.

Stefan then walked to the garbage can, depositing the cup inside. He looked across the street and saw that some sleazy bar was still full of life at nearly 1 AM. Suddenly, Stefan began walking away from the car and then proceeded to run across the empty street. "Hey, come on, now is not the time to be drinking!" Damon yelled. He got in the car, followed by Alaric, and drove across the street.

"Maybe a few drinks won't hurt him" Alaric suggested. "Might put him to sleep actually." Alaric got out of the car and stretched. That's when he noticed it. The beat up blue truck parked at the end of the lot. He looked at Damon who had seen the truck at about the same time. "Shit" Alaric said as they both went running inside.

The bar had a handful of people in it, most of who were completely drunk. Stefan was nowhere in sight, but the sound of a door slamming let them both know that someone had just gone out back behind the bar.

When Alaric and Damon came flying through the back door of the bar, they found Stefan holding Derrick by the collar of his shirt, punching him in the face repeatedly. Anyone could see that Stefan had completely lost it. He wasn't even thinking anymore. He was just feeling. "Stefan stop!" Alaric yelled, grabbing Stefan. "If you kill him, we won't know where she is!" he reminded his friend.

Stefan was caught by surprise at the grip Alaric had on him and ended up letting Derrick fall to the ground in a heap. "Where is she!" Stefan yelled, struggling in Alaric's grip. "I swear to God I will kill you right now!" he promised.

Damon bent down beside Derrick who was struggling to sit up. He checked him for a gun or a knife and didn't find anything. Derrick looked up at Damon and smiled. "We meet again" he said, struggling to breathe. Damon assessed the damage. Probably a broken nose, possibly a broken eye socket too.

"Where is Elena?" Damon asked calmly.

Derrick just smiled again as he reached his hand up and wiped away some of the blood running from his nose. Then, Derrick looked at Stefan. The raging maniac of was still trying to fight off the guy holding him back. "Let him kill me" Derrick said, addressing both Damon and Alaric. "Because I'll never tell you where she is. Because if I can't have her, no one can" he said, laughing in an eerily manner. "How long can a person go without food or water?" he asked, amused at his own factual question. "Tick tock" he added, locking his eyes with Stefan's and laughing again.

It had turned into a game for Derrick, and this had nearly paralyzed Stefan. Elena was a person. She was a good person and so many people loved her. Stefan loved her. And Derrick didn't care.

Stefan stopped fighting Alaric almost instantly and his body went limp. Derrick was hiding Elena, probably where no one would find her. Not in time, at least. Stefan's whole existence became threatened in that moment. The moment where derrick had sat there and assigned Elena her death sentence.

If Elena died, Stefan knew he would want to die too.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here it is! **

**I am not sure if I have posted on here yet, but I do now have a Tumblr also: blog/tvdvampirekat **

**I am looking for those of you who can create images or GIFs for any of the stories I have written. One person has already done so with Stefan, Elena, and the kids. I think they are fantastic and I would love to see your creativity and share them with the other readers! So, if you enjoy creating and are a fan of these stories, please let us see your talent! The images/GIFS can be of one character, a few, favorite moments, etc. : )**

**Okay, on to the story …**

Stefan wasn't sure how long he had been sitting with his head resting against the table at the police station. Maybe an hour. Maybe two. He stopped watching the clock after a while. Every tick of the second hand made his heart constrict a little more. Every tick of the second hand was a constant reminder that Elena was suffering. Every tick of that damn second hand was a reminder that he had failed her.

"Mr. Salvatore?" a stern voice said. Stefan hadn't even heard anyone enter the room. "I'm Detective Moore. I've been assigned to your wife's case" he said, taking a seat across from Stefan and opening a folder. "I'm pretty much caught up on the situation, but I have a few more questions for you" he stated.

Stefan lifted his head and laughed inwardly. "Situation" he repeated. His Elena was no longer a loving, beautiful person. She was a situation.

"I understand that there was an encounter between you and Mr. … Derrick Adams earlier?" he asked. "At Roadside Bar?" he clarified. Stefan knew where this was going. "Let me be frank with you Mr. Salvatore. Derrick's lawyer can come back and go after you for assault charges" he said. "So, why don't you tell me exactly what happened" he said, hinting to Stefan to come up with a better story. Like, Derrick had come after Stefan first and Stefan had acted in self-defense.

Stefan sighed and leaned over the table to get a closer look at the detective. "Derrick" Stefan said slowly. "Kidnapped my niece and now has my wife hidden somewhere to die" he stated. "Derrick, is a low life, waste of space. So you want to know what really happened?" he asked, testing the waters before he dove right on in. "I found him at the bar. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him outside. And then, I beat the living shit out of him" he finished without batting an eye. "And while you are sitting in here, questioning me, my wife is out there somewhere, struggling to stay alive" he pointed out resentfully.

The detective tossed his pen aside. "I'm trying to help you Stefan" he reminded. "I am very well aware of what is happening to your wife. And I can assure you I have the best team in there talking to Derrick right now, trying to get the information out of him."

"If you'd let me in his room, I'd get the information out of him" Stefan said confidently.

"Damnit Stefan!" the detective snapped. "Pain and fear will not get Derrick to talk. Don' t you see that? He doesn't care if he lives or dies. All he wants is to see others suffer. He wants Elena dead. He wants to see you hate yourself more than you already do" the detective pointed out. Stefan blinked, feeling that constricting feeling in his chest return. The detective ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with himself. "We will get Derrick to tell us where she is" he stated. "We've contacted his family and they are on their way. Maybe they will be of some use" he finished before getting up and walking out.

Stefan laid his head back down on the table and closed his eyes. He was so tired and the harder he fought to stay awake, the easier it was to give in. He just hoped that Elena was being stronger than he was right now.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena sat against the cold, hard wall, her legs spread out before her. She had spent the past half an hour checking every inch of the room, seeing if there was any possible way she could escape. As it had turned out, Derrick had done his research. He had chosen a room that she could not get out of. Rather than expending the rest of her energy, she decided to conserve it.

Her eyes were closed. Her head was screaming at her, begging for her to do something to stop the immense pain it was feeling. Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since the night before. She hadn't gone to the bathroom either, refusing to go in the corner of the room. She was too civilized for that. She was uncomfortable and miserable.

But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Thoughts of Stefan, memories of him were taking over. The good, the not so good, and everything in between.

Like the moment when she had first met him. The first time he had said her name, followed by a lame pick-up line about getting her phone number. The first time she had caught a glimpse of that to-die for smile. And how much the way he looked at her had made her hate him instantly.

Elena smiled at how hard she had tried to hate him. When he was the most loveable person she had ever been with. Sometimes he was obnoxious. Most of the time, he was needy. But the moment he had committed himself to her, he hadn't disappointed her. He had loved her unconditionally.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan tossed away the other half of his sandwich, having no appetite yet again. It was almost 8 PM, meaning Elena was going on her first full day of being locked away by herself. Derrick still wasn't talking. Therefore, Elena was still in danger.

His phone rang and he slowly fished it out of his pocket, seeing that it was Katherine's number. She was the last person he wanted to talk to right now, but maybe she was giving him an update on Lily. "Hello?" he answered, less motivated than he usually was when answering.

"Uncle Stefan!" came a bright and cheery voice from the other end of the line. "Did you find Aunt Elena yet?" she asked.

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment before answering. "Not yet" he finally answered. There was a long, silent pause that broke his heart. "What did you do today?" he asked, taking her from the heartbreaking reality to something a little more care-free.

"Mommy and Caroline took me shopping" Lily told him, her bright and cheery voice back. "Then we got ice cream, but Mommy wouldn't let me put all the toppings on like you do" Lily said, and he could hear the pouting in her voice. "She only let me pick two" she sighed.

Stefan smiled for the first time that day. "I bet you picked gummy worms and sprinkles" Stefan said.

"How did you know?" Lily asked, completely shocked.

Stefan smiled again. "You've been eating gummy worms and sprinkles since you were two" he reminded her.

Lily giggled. "No, I think you are just a really good guesser" she told him. How Stefan wished that were true. Because then he could guess where Elena was and put this whole nightmare behind them.

"Was the ice cream good at least?" Stefan asked.

"Uh huh" she replied. "But then, when we left, a bird pooped on Mommy's new purse so she threw a rock at it and missed. Then she said bad words" Lily informed him. "She was really, REALLY REALLY mad at that bird, but I thought it was funny" she said before falling into a fit of giggles. It was the best thing he had heard all day.

"That is really funny" Stefan told her. The detective made his presence known, signaling to Stefan that he was needed. "Lily, I have to go okay. I'm really glad you called. I miss you" he said, wishing that he didn't have to let her go.

"Okay Uncle Stefan. I love you" she said, not bothering to wait for a reply before she hung up.

Stefan smiled as he hung up too. Then he turned to the detective. "Anything?" Stefan asked. He knew the detective and the team had been interrogating Derrick all day.

The detective shook his head no. "But Derrick wants to talk to you" he informed. Stefan stood up immediately. "I told him no" the detective stated. "After your last encounter with him, I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Maybe he will tell me where Elena is" Stefan stated desperately.

"No, Stefan, he won't. He wants to play games. He wants to get you all fired up" the detective told him.

Stefan shook his head. "I want to talk to him: Stefan said. "Maybe I can get something out of him. It's worth trying, because right now we have nothing" he reminded.

The detective shook his head. "This is a bad idea. But you're right. We have nothing" he stated. "You will have a window separating you two. I will ask that you have your privacy" he sighed. Maybe Derrick would be more willing to talk if it were just Stefan and him. Stefan nodded and followed the detective.

He was seated on one side of a window and waited for Derrick to be brought in. "Don't get your hopes up, kid" the detective said as they waited.

Derrick was brought into the room on the other side of the window. He took a seat and smiled when he saw Stefan. The officers stepped out of the room. Stefan took notice of the damage he had done earlier that morning. Derrick's whole face was black and blue. "It's pretty bad, huh?" Derrick said, taking notice of Stefan staring at him. "You got me pretty good."

Stefan clenched his right hand, feeling the urge to hit him again. "I suppose after so many times of turning Elena's face black and blue, you needed to know how it felt" Stefan replied, keeping his tone neutral.

Derrick half smiled, half laughed. "Sometimes, you have to show a girl her place" Derrick informed him. "Having spent a few days with Elena recently, I can see that you let her walk all over you" he added.

Stefan's face hardened. "Most people treat their dogs better than you treated Elena" Stefan countered. "She's a beautiful, intelligent, passionate young woman. She doesn't need to be told her place."

"You really love her, don't you?" Derrick asked, cocking his head to the side for added emphasis to his curiosity. "It's too bad that all she loves about you is your money. That's really your fault though. You buy her everything she wants and let her spend all the money she can" Derrick reminded him.

The detective was right. All Derrick wanted was to get Stefan fired up. The trick was to not fall for it. "Does it bother you, Derrick? That I can buy Elena nice things, and you can't?" Stefan asked, turning the tables on him. "Does it bother you that I am successful, and all Elena can see in you is failure?"

Derrick slammed his hand on the counter out of anger. "I am not a failure!" he yelled. "Elena never wanted any of that before she met you. She never needed money to be happy. All she needed was me!" he spat vehemently at Stefan.

"All she needed was you?" Stefan asked. "Then why the hell aren't you with her right now, Derrick?" Stefan questioned, raising his own voice slightly.

"Because you ruined her" Derrick answered, calmly this time. "You turned her against me. She doesn't want me anymore" he said, sounding defeated.

"Do you love her?" Stefan asked, his voice soft. He hated even asking the question. But the goal was to get Derrick talking so he could find Elena.

Derrick closed his eyes. "Yes" he sighed. This gave Stefan hope. Hope that Derrick would break down and tell him where Elena was.

"Then you don't want her to die" Stefan told him. "She's scared right now. She's probably wondering why you would want her to die. You need to make this right, Derrick. You need to be able to tell Elena how you feel. How much you love her and how you made a mistake leaving her" Stefan said sadly.

Derrick was staring intently at Stefan now, his eyes almost glazed over from what Stefan thought were tears. Derrick's hands came up and covered his face in frustration. Then he shook his head. "I do, I do love her" he said, crying now. This took Stefan by surprise, but he was going to go with it. "I love Elena" he repeated. "I left her in that house because she doesn't love me anymore" he cried, taking huge breaths to calm himself.

House. Stefan leaned forward, determined to learn more. Elena was in a house. "Is she in the house you wanted her to live with you in?" Stefan asked.

"She's going to die" Derrick said, breaking down even more. "She's going to die" Derrick repeated.

"Where is the house?" Stefan asked, any patience in him, now gone.

Derrick's hands left his face suddenly. It was like Stefan was staring at an entirely different person. One full of zero remorse. "You're tricking me" he said, wiping angrily at his tears. "You don't really care about me and Elena. You just want to find her so you can be with her" he said.

"Derrick, please" Stefan said, fearing that he would lose what he was so close to gaining. "Tell me where Elena is" Stefan nearly begged.

"I'd rather she die than be with you" Derrick spit out at him. He stood, ready to go back to his cell.

"What do you want? Name it" Stefan said, standing as well and leaning closer to the window. "I will get you the best private lawyer money can buy. When you get out of here, I will give you 12 million dollars" he added. "You can disappear and do whatever you want. Please Derrick, just tell me where she is" he repeated desperately.

"I'll never tell you, Stefan. Not for all the money in the world" Derrick said, an evil grin spreading slowly across his face. There it was. The lack of empathy was back. Stefan had lost. "I hope she suffers" Derrick finished, signaling to the guard that he wanted out.

"You son of a bitch!" Stefan yelled, banging against the window as hard as he could. "Tell me where she is, Derrick! Tell me! Damnit tell me!" Stefan demanded, continuing to bang on the window until two officers grabbed him. "Let go of me!" Stefan yelled. He shrugged the officers off of him and stormed down the hallway. He glared at the detective, not wanting to hear any of it. "He's got her in an empty house" was all he said on his way out the door.

"Stefan?" Damon asked when his brother went outside.

"She's in a house. An empty house by herself!" Stefan yelled. "I'm checking every damn empty house in this area" he told him, walking towards Damon's car.

Damon was hot on his heels, yelling for Alaric along the way. "Stefan!" Damon said, grabbing his arm.

"Don't!" Stefan warned, spinning around and facing his brother. "I am going to find her. Don't try and stop me."

Damon sighed. "I just wanted to suggest that we rent two other cars and split up. Between the three of us, we can cover a lot more area" Damon said.

Stefan nodded. "Fine" he said, getting in his brother's car. Alaric hopped in the back, not too sure what was going on, but ready for whatever he needed to do.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had no idea what time it was, or what day it was now. She had fallen asleep and when she woke up, hadn't bothered to move from her position on the floor. She had been dreaming about Stefan. A happier moment between the two. Just before they had gotten married.

_The movie had just ended – some sappy love story she had begged him to watch. It hadn't taken much convincing since she had kissed him just before saying "please". _

_He had shut the T.V. off when the movie ended, but neither of them had bothered to move, too comfortable where they were. Him sitting behind her, in the perfect position to kiss her shoulders and her neck. She leaned against him, closing her eyes and loving this quiet moment between them. When the phones were not constantly ringing with reminders about this and that for the upcoming wedding. "You sure you want to marry me for real?" Elena asked. She felt his fingers slip under her shirt, gliding their way up and then back down slowly._

_Stefan kissed her neck. "I already put the deposit down on the catering. Too late to back out now" he said._

_Elena swatted his leg and she felt him smile against her shoulder. "I see how it is" she said, attempting to get up. She had laundry to do still._

"_No" he protested, wrapping his arms around her tightly to keep her from getting up. "I'm excited to show everyone else how much I love you" he said, trailing his lips away from her ear and placing a soft kiss on the back of her head. "I want them to be jealous that I have the sexiest, funniest, smartest, most loveable wife anyone could ever ask for."_

_Elena giggled softly. "That's a good answer" she told him. "I'm pretty lucky" she said, grabbing his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. "To have found someone who loves me the way you do" she finished._

_Stefan brought their intertwined hand up to his lips and kissed her hand. "I love you so much" he whispered into her ear. "I'm always going to love you."_

_Elena smiled, turning her head slightly so he could kiss her. Eh, the laundry could wait. "You make me really, really happy" she told him honestly. "Thank you, for everything. I love you, too" she said, giving him another sweet, slow kiss._

"_I'd do anything for you" he told her, rubbing his thumb across her cheek. "Come on, let's go upstairs" he said, smiling against her lips._

"_You're tired?" she asked playfully._

"_No" Stefan said, standing with her. He wrapped his arms around her and walked upstairs with her. When they got to their room, Stefan pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "I want to lay in bed with you" he whispered, kissing her hair. "And make love to you until we both fall asleep" he whispered in her ear._

_Elena closed her eyes and sighed. "I think I like the sound of that" she smiled, leaning her head back. _

"_I thought you would" he smiled, slowly dropping his hands and peeling her shirt up over her body slowly. Elena turned around and did the same to him, tossing his shirt on the floor. Her hands slowly went to rest on top of his shoulders and she leaned up and kissed him. _

_Sometimes, she considered herself to be the luckiest girl alive._

But not right now. Not when she was on the cold, hard floor, alone and feeling worse than she had in a long time. She missed him. She missed his so badly. She missed his stupid jokes and his silly grin when he was thinking about sex. She missed the way he would hold her when she was upset and kiss her when he wanted to remind her without words just how much he loved her.

She needed him. She needed him so damn much right now that it hurt. The pain of needing him was far greater than the pain from her injuries.

The first tear slid down her face as she brought her legs up and curled into a ball on the floor. More tears quickly followed. "Stefan" she whispered. "Stefan, please help me" she cried softly before shutting her eyes tight and choking back her sobs.

**A/N: So? What did you think?**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Another shorter update, but I hope a good one nonetheless. **

**As always, let me know what you think. Thanks!**

Nothing. Hours and hours of searching into the night and nothing. A total of 64 empty, abandoned houses searched and nothing.

"Stefan, let's start again tomorrow" Alaric said, having met up with his friend about ten minutes before.

"No" Stefan said, kicking an old plastic flowerpot. He couldn't give up, especially since the detective had called him hours earlier, stating that Derrick's family had arrived at the station. Derrick's family was supposed to get the information out of Derrick, but Derrick refused to see them.

"Then what do you want to do, huh Stefan?" Alaric yelled. "Keep searching until you drop?" he asked angrily. He was tired. He was frustrated. It wasn't a good combination.

Stefan took a step toward him. "That is exactly what I am going to do" he said, pointing his hand at his friend for added emphasis. "She deserves better than this!" he shouted. "She deserves to be at home right now, in our bed, sleeping peacefully!" he added, on the verge of breaking down. She didn't deserve to be locked up somewhere, left to die.

Alaric stared at his friend with empathy. "I'm sorry" he said, finding no other words. Because he completely agreed. Elena shouldn't be in the situation she was in.

"I promised her this life was done" Stefan told him. "I failed her. So it is my responsibility to bring her home" he concluded. Before Alaric could stop him, Stefan was getting back into his car. Alaric got in his rental and followed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her eyes were red and puffy, her tears having dried long ago. She wasn't sure she could cry any more even if she wanted to. The only way she knew she was still alive was because she could feel the cold cement of the floor against her cheek. Everything else was numb.

_Stefan is coming for me. _Elena had let this thought run through her mind on repeat for quite some time now as she remained where she was on the floor. She wondered how long it would take for her to stop believing it. Probably until she was dead.

_Stefan loves me. _When she started to become scared, she would tell herself this. It had a calming effect on her, even in the toughest of times. It was a wonderful thing, to feel loved.

She loved him too, more than anything. And she hoped that he was not beating himself up over her. After all, it had been her choice to walk out that door and meet Derrick. She didn't regret it. Because the alternative would be Lily on that floor, hungry and thirsty and scared and hurt. The thought made her sick. Numb and sick.

"Stefan" Elena whispered, closing her eyes. They were too weak to stay open. "I love you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Day three. Stefan looked at his unshaven face in the hotel mirror. Elena wouldn't like it. She didn't like when his prickly hairs rubbed against her face when he kissed her. Her skin was too soft and sensitive.

Stefan grabbed the shaving cream and the complimentary shaver in the bathroom and went to work. He, Damon, and Alaric were heading out in a little bit to check some abandoned properties toward the coast. It was 5 AM. Stefan had gone to bed just after midnight and had slept on and off for a few hours before getting up and sitting outside, looking up at the night sky. It was peaceful out there and he swore when he got Elena back, he was going to sit outside at night with her more often and look up at the stars.

As he shaved, he stared into the mirror and his memory of he and Elena in the bathroom one morning invaded his mind.

_She had come into the bathroom just as he was getting ready to shave. Earlier, she had run her hand across his jaw and smiled. That was all Stefan needed to understand that he needed to think about shaving. When she had joined him in the bathroom, she had hopped up on the counter and grabbed the bottle of shaving cream, putting a generous amount in the palm of her hand and rubbing her hands together. Stefan stepped in-between her legs, giving her better access to him. Elena then applied the shaving cream to his face, smiling as she did. _

_He had been nervous as hell to let her anywhere near his face with that razor, but the moment she started, he couldn't tell her no. She had such a determined look on her face as she expertly moved the razor over his skin._

_When she was done, she checked every inch of his face to make sure she had gotten it all. Minus the small bits of leftover shaving cream, his face was smooth. "All done" she said, setting the razor down. She grabbed a wet cloth to wash the rest of the shaving cream off of his face when he grabbed her arms, stopping her._

_He had a look of determination too as he leaned in and kissed her hard. Elena leaned back until her head hit the mirror. His hands still held her arms, slowly bringing them back to rest against her sides. She had groaned lightly, wanting nothing more than to touch him. He gave in finally and let go of her arms._

_Elena's fingers went to work on the buttons on his shirt, desperate to get it off. He was already unbuttoning her shorts and tugging them down. His lips never left her._

_It was fast and sometimes uncoordinated as it would be on a bathroom sink, but it full of passion. He had her coming undone in record time and there wasn't a thing he enjoyed more than having her arms and legs wrapped around him, holding on to him for dear life. She was sure she would melt to a puddle on the floor if she let go. Her short, quick breaths against his shoulder subsided eventually. "Holy crap" she breathed out, holding him closer. That really was all she could say._

_Stefan smiled against her neck, glad to hear that he had done his job and done it well. Because loving Elena – being with Elena, that was easy. _

Being without Elena – there were no words to describe what that felt like to him.

Stefan snapped out of his memory and made work with the razor and washed his face. He was out the door and banging on Damon's door moments later. 5:20 AM. It was time to go.

They had all decided to ride together this time. The area of houses they were searching was only a mile wide at most. Apparently, a hurricane had come through two years earlier and the homes were left damaged where they stood.

Damon and Alaric had a quiet, friendly chat in the front of the car while Stefan rested his eyes in the back. It was still dark out, but the sun would be up in an hour or so. Not that it mattered to Stefan.

"Does Jeremy and Bonnie know about Elena?" Alaric asked Damon.

Damon looked in his rearview mirror at his brother. "Yeah. We called them after we got Lily back. Told them to stay put. Her brother will probably come out here anyway" Damon said. Damon parked his car at the end of a cult-de-sac finally. "I'll take those six houses over there" he said, pointing them out.

Alaric nodded. "Stefan, you take these five in front of us and I'll take the three on the end over there" he said, getting out of the car.

Stefan zipped up his hoodie as he stood just outside the car. As he walked, the leaves crunched beneath his feet. It would be winter before long. He hadn't gotten all the wood chopped and stacked for winter like Elena had asked. She had gone on and on all summer about how she wanted to have wood heat to keep them warm. He had promised her he would have it done by the first of September.

He hadn't kept that promise either.

The houses they were at now looked torn apart on the outside. The siding had been torn off and was now hanging on by a thread. Shingles on the roof were missing and lawn furniture that had been blown across the yard now had moss growing on it. Stefan thought they might have been really beautiful homes at one point in time.

As he approached, he could see that most of the windows were broken and some even had boards across them. NO TRESPASSING was painted in orange across the side of the house. Stefan stepped up on the front porch of the first house, stumbling to the side as the wood gave way beneath him. Carefully, he made his way to the door and tried the door handle. It was open.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"They're so pretty, thank you!" Lily said excitedly, admiring her newly painted nails that Caroline had done. She hopped off of Caroline's lap and ran into the other room. "Uncle Zach look at my pretty nails!" she said, jumping up and down in place as she showed him.

"Beautiful" he smiled, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Did Caroline do those for you?" he asked.

"Uh huh" Lily said, nodding her head. She looked at her nails and then sighed sadly.

"What's wrong, little one?" Zach asked, scooping her up in his arms.

She looked at him for a moment and sighed again. "When is Elena gonna come home?" she asked. "I miss her" she said sadly.

Zach hated answering questions he didn't have an answer to, especially when it was Lily who was asking. "I don't know, Lily" he said, sighing himself. "A lot of people are looking for her right now though" he said, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Okay" she said quietly. "I'm gonna go see if Caroline will play Go Fish with me" she said, wiggling out of Zach's arms.

Zach let her go and watched her run off. He checked his phone and saw that he had no new messages or missed calls. The search for Elena must not have been going very well. He pocketed his phone and looked out the sliding glass door behind him to see Katherine on her third drink that morning, sitting in a lounging chair. She was staring out ahead of her.

Zach let himself outside and took the seat next to her. Katherine sighed, really in no mood for company. "If you're here to lecture me, don't" she said, taking another sip of her drink.

"Thought I might join you" Zach said instead. He could use a good stiff drink to ease the tension he had been feeling since Stefan had called him and told him Lily had gone missing.

Katherine looked at him to see if he was serious before handing him the bottle and a glass. He poured himself a glass before turning back to stare at whatever Katherine had been staring at. "I looked online for how long a person can survive without water" she said suddenly before taking another drink. "It said up to a week, if the conditions were right" she added. "It'll be almost four days for Elena here pretty soon" she mentioned, swirling her glass around and looking at the bottom of it.

"They'll find her" was all Zach said, though frankly, it had been on his mind too.

"You welcomed her so easily into this family" Katherine mentioned. "I practically had to prove myself to you people on a daily basis." She took another long drink. "I get it. She's almost perfect to a fault. And she treats Stefan better than I ever did" she added.

"Elena never wanted our approval" Zach said, taking a drink. "Although she went along with the marriage, she never wanted to lie to any of us. I welcomed her into the family because I knew she was exactly what Stefan needed."

"A perfect little wife?" Katherine asked. That was all she had tried to be for Damon and she had failed miserably.

"No" Zach smiled. "Someone who challenged him" he answered. "She's a good person" Zach said. "It's not that I never liked you, Katherine. I question your behaviors, but I think you're a good person too. When you let us all see that in you" he said, finishing his drink and standing up.

"Stefan's going to hate me for the rest of my life if Elena doesn't come home" Katherine said quietly. He would blame her for Elena running off to save Lily when Lily shouldn't have been taken in the first place.

Zach nodded. "Maybe" he answered. "But I think he'll hate himself more." With that, he went back inside, intent on watching Lily and Caroline play their card game.

Katherine leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She didn't want Stefan to hate anyone. As much as she didn't like Elena most days, she wanted nothing more than for Elena to be okay. For Stefan's sake. For Lily's sake. For the whole family's sake.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Alaric checked the front door of one of his houses he was in charge of searching. It was locked. He checked the windows. All boarded up. He went around the back and checked that door too. It was locked, but he gave it one good shove and the hinges creaked and cracked until the door fell open enough for him to slide through.

Alaric walked inside and took notice of how everything appeared to be intact. There were cobwebs and a lot of dust, but the house was left exactly how it had been. A coffee table, chairs, and a rug all decorated the living area.

Alaric moved through the kitchen next, checking the pantry. He moved through the rest of the house fairly quickly, like he had done all the other houses. He checked bedrooms and closets. He checked basements and laundry rooms too. As he went down the stairs in the house he was in, he turned on his flashlight and walked to the end of the hallway.

He checked the door, giggling the handle, and saw that it was locked. There was a large chain reinforcing that lock. Whoever had lived there probably had something in there they didn't want taken.

He turned around and walked back upstairs, preparing to go to the next house.

He stopped abruptly when he reached the top of the stairs. Suddenly, his heart felt heavy as it beat rapidly against his chest. "Elena" he whispered. He turned around and went back down quick as lightening. He banged on the door. "Elena?" he asked. "Elena, are you in there?" he yelled, banging on the door again. Silence. It was probably nothing. She probably wasn't in there, but something was telling him to check anyway. To make sure.

Alaric grabbed a wrench off a nearby shelf and hit it against the lock a few times until he could push the door open some, as far as it would go until it met the resistance of the chain. The door was open about four inches as he did his best to scan the room.

Then he saw it. A shoe.

A pair of blue jeans.

A head of brown hair.

"Elena!"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Many of you expressed interest in reading this update first, so I decided to post it. It really wasn't fair of me to leave you all wondering about Elena like that : ) **

"Elena!" Alaric yelled again. He reached his arm through the door as far as it would go, but he was far from reaching her. "Elena? Can you hear me?" he asked. He tried to hold his own breath to keep silent for a moment. He couldn't hear a response. What was worse … he couldn't see her moving at all. She didn't appear to be breathing. "Shit" he cursed, pulling back out of the door and grabbing for his phone. He dialed 911 quickly, cursing silently as his trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons.

No service. "Shit!" he yelled. "Elena, I will be right back. Okay, I will go get help" he said, running back up the stairs and tripping a handful of times. He had to go all the way out of the house to get his reception back. He quickly dialed again. "I need help. There is a woman and … God, she's lying on the floor and I don't know if she's breathing" he spit out, attempting to catch his breath. "Her name is Elena Gilbert. She hasn't had food or water in days, you have to hurry!" he demanded. Alaric proceeded to give his best description of the location before hanging up his phone and running down the driveway. "Stefan! Damon!" he yelled, searching desperately for them.

Stefan was the first to come running out of the house he was searching. Damon wasn't far behind. Stefan stood stalk still as he looked at his friend. All Alaric had to do was nod and Stefan was running full force towards him, passing him in his desperate need to get to Elena. "Where is she?" Stefan demanded as he ran into the house.

"Downstairs" Alaric said, trying to catch up. "Stefan wait!" he said breathlessly, needing to prepare his friend for what he was about to see.

Stefan was already thundering down the stairs. "Elena!" he called out, pushing on the door and realizing the chain was not going to let the door open anymore. He peered into the room and saw her seemingly lifeless form lying on the floor out of his reach. His heart stopped. "Elena?" he choked out. Why wasn't she answering him? Why wasn't she moving?

"Stefan" Alaric said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I called 911. They'll be here soon" he said, trying to console his friend as best as he could. In all honestly, things didn't look good.

"Why isn't she moving?" Stefan asked, breaking down and crying as he sunk to the floor and reached his arm out to her. "Elena baby answer me" he said, bursting into sobs that he couldn't find any control over. His wife, his beautiful wife was 5 feet from him and he couldn't get to her.

Alaric didn't know what to say. He too felt tears run down his face. What if she was dead? What if they were too late?

"Stefan?" Damon asked, coming quickly down the stairs. "Where is she?" Damon demanded.

"She's in there" Stefan sobbed. "She's not moving Damon. She's not f*cking moving!" he yelled out.

Damon grabbed the chain and examined it. "Alaric, help me" Damon said, placing his hands on the door.

"We don't have anything to cut the chain" Alaric reminded him.

"I just want to open it enough for him to get in there" Damon told him. He needed his brother to get in that room with Elena. Because he knew, if it had been Katherine in there, he would have needed to be in there with her.

Alaric nodded. "Okay" he said. They both went to work on running toward the door, slamming into it. Both groaned as they hit the door, but not stopping. Slowly, they got the door to budge just enough for Stefan to slip through.

"Elena?" Stefan asked, squeezing through the door and crawling to her. "Elena?" he said, crying as he hesitated to touch her. He closed his eyes as he touched her neck lightly. A gasp of relief left him instantly. "She's got a pulse" Stefan called out to them. It wasn't very strong, but it was there.

He heard Damon tell Alaric to go and get water. "How are her injuries?" Damon asked, desperate to keep his brother talking and focused.

Stefan lifted some of the hair off of her face and he swore he felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. The air left his lungs so fast.

The left side of her face was bruised on her cheek, her eye was swollen, and there was a cut above her eye. He picked up her shirt and saw the black and blue coloring her sides. "Her face and her ribs" Stefan called back to his brother. "I'm so sorry Elena" Stefan cried softly, leaning over her protectively and holding her gently so as not to hurt her. "I'm here now" he promised her. "Help is on the way. I just need you to hold on a little longer okay" he told her.

"Lily?" a strained whisper came, causing Stefan to shoot up into a sitting position immediately.

Her eyes were still closed, but she had definitely spoken. No words could describe how relieved he felt in that moment. Stefan took her hand in his. "She's happy and safe" he said, crying when he felt Elena squeeze his hand weakly.

"Good" she said softly. "Stefan?" she asked, her eyes still closed as she lay there beside him.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice cracking at the very thought of seeing her so weak and helpless. This wasn't the Elena he knew. She had been a ball of fire when he had met her and even after he had gotten to know her, she was still so strong. This killed him.

"I knew you'd find me" she whispered, feeling her body begin to give in to the unconscious once more.

The guilt hit him like a freight train. Because he hadn't been the one to find her. Alaric had. He had been a couple of houses over. He had been searching the wrong house. "Elena?" he asked, feeling her hand go limp. He touched her cheek and saw that she was still breathing, but she was unconscious once again. Maybe it was better that way, for her to be out of it and not feel the pain. But the selfish part of him wanted her to stay awake and talk to him, to reassure him that she was alive and that she would be okay.

Stefan sat there for a few minutes, holding her hand when he heard Alaric come back down the stairs. "Can she drink?" Damon asked, holding the water bottle through the door. Stefan just shook his head no.

"I heard the sirens before I got back into the house" Alaric said from the other side of the door. "They'll be here any second" he added.

"Did you hear that?" Stefan asked Elena, bending down and kissing her ear softly. "The medics will be here any minute now to take you to a hospital. They'll take care of you there" he whispered softly, wiping away at his tears that fell onto her face. "I just need you to hold on a little longer" he told her.

"They're here" Damon said, hearing them outside. "I'll go get them" he added, standing up and running up the stairs.

The next few minutes were all sort of a blur for everyone. The firefighters had the chain cut off in minutes and the paramedics were surrounding Elena, checking her vitals and deciding on the best course of action to take to get her out of there.

"Careful" Stefan said, doing his best to stand back and let the professionals care for Elena. But it was extremely difficult, especially when he heard her whimper as they placed her on the backboard. His hands were in his hair, nearly pulling it out as he watched. "Please, be careful. She's hurt really bad" he said, pacing behind them and peering over their shoulders whenever he got the chance.

"Does she have any allergies to medications?" one of the medics asked, turning to Stefan.

He shook his head. "Not that I know of" Stefan answered. He racked his brain quickly, but he couldn't remember a time when she had told him anything like that.

"Is she or could she possibly be pregnant?" the medic asked.

"No" Stefan said, his heart sinking as he remembered the one time she had thought she was and how disappointed she had looked when she told him she wasn't.

"We're taking her to Georgia Regional Hospital" the medic informed him as they lifted Elena and began their climb up the stairs.

Stefan followed closely behind. "Can I ride with her?" he asked as he watched them put Elena in the back of the ambulance.

"There's not enough room" the driver said before getting in.

Stefan's shoulders sagged as he watched the doors close. He had just gotten Elena back, only to lose her again. "Come on, we'll follow them" Damon said, resting his hand on Stefan's shoulder." Stefan nodded and both Damon and Alaric could tell he was on the brink of tears again.

"She's in good hands now" Alaric said confidently.

Stefan shrugged off Damon's hand and walked towards the car. He got in the back. Damon and Alaric shared a quick sad glance at one another before hurrying to the car themselves.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thirty minutes. That's how long Stefan had been waiting to hear anything about Elena since she had been admitted. He couldn't sit still. He was up and down, pacing and fidgeting. Damon and Alaric sat in their chairs and watched him. Both had taken turns calling family and friends to let them know that they had found Elena.

Stefan had caught parts of their conversations, but he really wasn't worried about anyone else but Elena. "Please please please" he whispered to himself, running his hands through his hair as he paced.

Finally, the doors opened and an older doctor walked out, dressed in scrubs and holding a chart. "Mr. Salvatore?" he asked, searching the room.

"How is she?" Stefan asked, practically running to the doctor frantically.

The doctor clutched his chart to his chest and adjusted his glasses. "Elena has suffered from extreme dehydration. We have her on fluids right now. As far as the physical injuries go, she has a fractured left eye socket, three fractured ribs and we detected internal bleeding" he said, informing Stefan.

Stefan looked as though all of that meant death. His brain was on overdrive and he couldn't slow it down. "Is she … she going to be okay?" he asked, his hands shaking so badly that he had to fist them shut.

"Yes" the doctor answered. "She will need to undergo surgery to stop the bleeding. But she's young, she's healthy. She should recover just fine" he stated. "Now, I will be the surgeon in the room. I need you to sign these for me and we will get started."

Stefan signed anything and everything the doctor gave to him. "Can I, can I see her before she goes into surgery?" Stefan asked.

The doctor, who would normally say no in these types of situations, took pity on him. "Five minutes" he told Stefan and Stefan was happy to take what he had offered. Stefan looked back to his brother and friend and both waved him off. Stefan had to walk quickly to keep up with the doctor.

Stefan entered Elena's room and the air was almost knocked out of him, seeing her lying so still on a bed, covered in ghostly white blankets. Her monitors were beeping rhythmically. It was almost an eerie sound. Slowly, he approached her. In the bright white light of the room, he could see how bruised her face really was. How dry and chapped her lips were from the dehydration. She looked so small in the overly large bed. Almost as small as Lily.

He wasted no more time, grabbing her hand gently in his and sitting down next to her. Elena's eyes opened slightly, though he could tell she was fighting whatever sedation they had given her, just to look at him. "Hi" she whispered, breathing shallowly as she looked at him.

Stefan held back his tears, because the last thing he wanted was for her to see him cry before she went into surgery. "Hi" he whispered back, kissing her hand that he was holding now in both of his.

"They said" she said, closing her eyes and swallowing. "That I have to have surgery" she told him. "I don't want to have surgery" she said, her voice so quiet that he barely heard her.

Stefan smiled sadly at her. "I know you don't" he told her softly. "But you need it. You're going to be okay and when you wake up, I will be right here waiting for you" he told her.

Elena closed her eyes, clearly exhausted. "Promise?" she asked him quietly.

"I promise" he said, kissing her hand again. The nurses cleared their throats at the door, informing Stefan that he had to leave. He squeezed her hand and kissed it again. "I love you, Elena."

She opened her eyes and tears fell from them. He felt like he had died for the millionth time that day, seeing her cry. "I love you" she whispered.

Stefan stood slightly and leaned over her, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'll see you soon" he told her, slowly and painfully letting go of her hand. He retreated out of the room, but he did stop and look at her through the window one last time. Her eyes were closed again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena's surgery had taken two hours. He still couldn't see her, but they had assured him that she wouldn't wake up for a while. Because he had promised he would be there when she woke up. He had broken enough promises to her for a lifetime and he wasn't about to break another one.

"I miss you Daddy" Lily's voice said, coming through Damon's phone. Why he had her on speaker phone, Stefan didn't know. But it was good to hear her voice.

"I miss you too baby" Damon said, rubbing at his eyes. He was tired too.

"When is Elena gonna come home?" Lily asked.

Damon looked at Stefan before answering. "We're not sure Lily. The doctors are making her feel better right now" he answered.

Lily huffed. "I can take care of Elena and make her feel better!" she insisted. She had taken care of Stefan after he had gotten sick, after all.

"I know, but she's already here, so we are going to let the doctors take care of her" he explained.

"I don't like it one bit Daddy" Lily said, and both Damon and Stefan could picture her crossing her arms. "When can Mommy and I come home?" she asked.

"I don't know yet" Damon answered. "You will be the first to know when I figure it out, okay?" he asked her.

"Okay" she sighed. "Can I talk to Uncle Stefan?" she asked.

Damon looked over at Stefan hesitantly. "I don't think right now is such a good time" he told her.

"But Daddy" Lily whined. "I wanna talk to Uncle Stefan" she said.

Damon again looked at Stefan who held his hand out for the phone. "Hi Lil" Stefan said. He was disgusted with himself for how gloomy he sounded.

"You sound sad Uncle Stefan" Lily said. "Don't be sad. Elena's gonna be okay" she told him.

Stefan closed his eyes and forced a smile. "Yeah, she will be okay. I'm just worried about her" he said, being completely honest with his 7-year old niece.

"You should probably go and get her ice cream to make her feel better" Lily told him. "With sprinkles and gummy bears" she added. Because ice cream fixed everything.

Stefan smiled again, but this time it wasn't forced. "I'll see what I can do" he told her. "What are you up to?" he asked, changing the subject on her.

"Umm … Caroline is taking me to see a play" she said. "Oh, hold on Uncle Stefan. She wants to talk to you." Stefan listened to muffled voices until he heard Caroline's voice.

"Hey" she said softly. "Alaric told me everything. How are you?" she asked.

Stefan paused for a moment, looking at the door that a nurse had come through. It wasn't for him though. "She's … she's in a lot of pain but she's gonna be okay" Stefan answered.

Caroline sighed. "No, you, Stefan. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine" he answered blankly.

She sighed again and he was sure she was shaking her head. "I've known you far too long Stefan. Don't lie to me" she warned.

Stefan saw Damon looking at him and decided to take the phone off speaker and to also get up and leave. "Honestly Care?" Stefan said as he walked. "I'm not doing so well" he sighed, stopping and leaning against a wall and closing his eyes. "I just want this nightmare to be over. I want her home" he sighed.

"You love her, Stefan. What you're feeling is completely normal" she assured him. "Elena will be home before you know it. But right now, she is in the best place possible. They'll take good care of her there."

"I know" Stefan said. "I just miss her."

"We all do" she told him. "But you need to take care of yourself, you hear?" she told him.

"I'll try" he told her. And that was the best he could do. "Have fun with Lily" he said.

"I will" Caroline replied. "Tell Elena I love her and miss her" she said quietly before hanging up.

Stefan made the short walk back to his brother. He handed his brother back his phone and took a seat. Stefan leaned back and closed his eyes, preparing to continue to wait. And wait. And wait.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Mr. Salvatore?" Stefan heard, jolting him awake. He looked disoriented as he tried to locate the voice, only to find that it was a young nurse standing behind him. "You can come back and sit with Elena now if you would like" she said quietly so as not to wake Damon or Alaric. Stefan nodded as he got up and followed her. He looked out the windows and saw that it was dark out. He wondered how long he had been asleep. "She's still asleep, but she should wake up soon" she told him. "If you need anything, there is a call button right here. There's an extra blanket on the chair if you need it" she explained.

"Thank you" Stefan said, shutting the door when she left. He stared at Elena for a moment before walking to her. She looked so pale. When he touched her hand, she felt cool to the touch. He didn't like that much either. Stefan grabbed the extra blanket off of the chair and covered her with it. Then he sat down beside her bed, held her hand, and just waited.

**A/N: Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading : )**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I do not have much to say except, thank you for reading : ) I look forward to your thoughts on this update, as always!**

After an hour sitting with her, Stefan had stretched out in two chairs near her bed, facing her. He wanted her to be able to see him if she woke up. He drifted in and out of sleep and got up periodically to make sure Elena was still breathing. The monitors attached to her told him as much, but he still wanted to make sure.

After giving up on sleep for the last time that evening, he sat up in his chair and took out Elena's wedding ring from is pocket. He rolled it around in his hand for a moment before looking at it. He began to wonder if he should have bought her a brand new ring, one that was all her own, rather than giving her an old, family heirloom.

He never imagined that he would give it to a woman. He always figured he would hold onto it and then pass it down to Lily when she was old enough. It meant a lot to him. No one was supposed to be so deserving as to receive it in his life but Lily. Not even Katherine, who he had planned to marry.

And then Elena had come along and messed up his plan.

His plan to be single the rest of his life, with no kids, spending his money carelessly and having fun while he did it. Going from girl to girl before any of them got too attached. Not having to be home by a certain time or worry about anyone but himself.

Yet here he was, married and thinking about children, spending his money a little more wisely now. Having one girl that he loved more than anything and calling her to let her know where he was and when he would be home. Being absolutely terrified about her safety and full of worry as he looked at her right then.

He blamed Katherine for so long for taking his future away from him and replacing it with something else. But everything Katherine wasn't made Stefan appreciate Elena that much more. Where Katherine wouldn't hold his hand in public, Elena had always been eager to, loving the closeness that it brought as they walked side by side. Katherine had simply wanted sex and Elena was perfectly happy spending all afternoon in bed with him, slowly kissing and touching or even just talking. Elena loved talking.

He cherished his moments with Elena because they were real. She made him a better person, or at least, brought out his better qualities. He could tell you exactly why he had married her. If you had all day to sit around and listen.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. "Stef …an?" a groggy voice said. His eyes opened instantly and found Elena's sleepy ones trying hard to look at him.

He scooted his chair to her bed and grabbed her hand. "I'm here" he told her quietly, extremely relieved to see her awake. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Everything hurts" she whispered.

Stefan hit the nurse's call button repeatedly until a nurse came running in. "She's in pain" Stefan said. The nurse nodded, scurried out of the room, and then ran back in with another dose of pain medication.

"This should help" the nurse said, checking Elena's monitors and IV bag while she was in there. "Is there anything I can get you?" she asked. "Something to eat? Something besides water to drink?" she asked kindly. Elena shook her head. "Okay. Don't hesitate to call. I'll be back in an hour" she explained before letting herself out of the room.

Stefan stared at Elena and his heart sank a little when she avoided his eyes. "You're sure you don't want anything?" he asked. He stood up and poured her a cup of water. He handed it to her. "You should drink" he told her.

Elena held the cup of water in her shaky hands and Stefan finally grabbed onto it to help her get it to her lips. One small sip and she was already choking on it, pushing the cup away from her lips. She didn't want the water. Her body was struggling to take it in, no doubt due to the days she went without any water.

He wanted to tell her to drink it, that she needed it, but seeing her struggle so much made him set the cup back down. They were silent for a moment. Her eyes had closed again and he thought she had gone back to sleep. "Are you mad at me?" her weak voice spoke.

Her question hit him hard. He grabbed her hand in his again and squeezed it. "A little" he smiled. She smiled too. Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was joking. "I'm more scared than anything" he told her honestly.

"You don't have to be scared anymore" she told him. "I may … look like death, but I don't think I'm going to die anytime soon" she said, cracking her own joke. "You're not free of me yet" she added.

He laughed. He couldn't help it. She was joking and smiling and it was beautiful. "I don't want to be free of you just yet" he told her sadly.

Elena sensed that the joking was done for now. "She's safe?" Elena asked, opening her eyes and looking at him.

"Yes, she's safe. And she really misses you" Stefan told her, bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a lingering kiss on her hand.

Elena sighed tiredly. "Call her for me" she told him. "I want to talk to her."

Stefan shook his head. "You need your rest" he told her.

"No, I want to talk to her right now" Elena said.

The urgency in her voice had him taking out his phone and dialing Zach's number. "Hey, is Lily still up?" Stefan asked. "Elena is awake and wants to talk to her" he said. He put the phone on speaker and rested it on Elena's stomach.

"Hello?" Lily's voice asked.

Elena closed her eyes as tears instantly appeared. She really didn't want Lily to know she was crying, but she was so relieved. "Hi Lily" Elena said, doing her best to sound as cheerful as the little girl on the other end of the phone.

There was a momentary pause as her little brain registered who it was. "Elena!" she said excitedly. "Are you home yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet" Elena said. "I don't know when they will let me out of the hospital. I hope soon because it's not much fun here" she explained.

"It's not fun 'cause I'm not there" Lily insisted.

"You're right" Elena said, wiping at her lingering tears.

"Are they poking you with needles and stuff?" Lily asked cautiously. "Because Uncle Stefan can tell them to stop that and they'll listen 'cause he has big muscles and stuff" she told Elena. Both Elena and Stefan cracked smiles.

"Yeah, he does have big muscles and stuff" Elena agreed. "But I kind of need those needles to give me my medicines. So I feel better and can go home" she explained.

"Oh, yeah, then you needs those needles and stuff" Lily agreed. "But, you know what would make you feel better?" she asked.

"Umm, ice cream?" Elena guessed.

"Yes!" Lily yelled into the phone. She now had Elena trained in her thinking too.

"I don't think I'm allowed to have ice cream right now" Elena said, breaking the sad news to her.

"What?" Lily asked, as if she hadn't understood what Elena had just said to her. It was unacceptable to withhold ice cream from someone. "If you tell Uncle Stefan you want ice cream, he'll go get you ice cream" she informed.

"Maybe later" Elena said. "I should probably let you get to sleep" she added.

"No not yet!" Lily begged. "I want to tell you something" she said quickly.

"Okay, you can tell me" Elena said softly.

Lily was quiet for a moment and Elena had almost wondered if she had hung up. "I wanted to tell you thank you, for coming and finding me. Mommy says you saved me from the mean man" she said quietly.

Elena looked at Stefan who looked just as vulnerable as she did right then. "I just wanted you to be safe" Elena finally said.

"But you got hurt" she said sadly.

Elena's tears began to return and she felt Stefan grab her hand. "I'm okay" Elena told her. "I don't want you to worry about me. I want you to think about what movie you and I are going to watch when I get home, okay?" Elena told her.

"Okay" Lily said, still not convinced. "I better go to bed now. I love you" she said.

Elena wiped away at a tear. "I love you too, Lily" she said quietly. "Sweet dreams" Elena said just as Stefan grabbed the phone and hung up.

Elena pulled her hand away from Stefan and covered her face, breaking down and letting her tears fall freely now. "I don't want her to blame herself" Elena cried softly. Everything she had gone through was to keep Lily safe and happy.

Stefan scooted even closer to her and rested his head against her shoulder. "She's just worried about you" Stefan said quietly. "Once we're home, we can talk to her and make sure she understands what happened" he explained. "She'll be okay" he promised.

"I want to go home" Elena cried softly. "Please, take me home" she nearly begged.

Stefan sat up some and grabbed for her hands. She looked up at him and he smiled sadly. "I promise you, as soon as the doctors say it's okay, I will take you home where you belong" he said, kissing both of her hands. "Okay?" he asked.

Elena nodded slowly, pulling her hands away from his. She reached up and touched is face gently. "I love you" she said softly.

Stefan nodded. "I know you do" he said, smiling. "I love you too" he told her. "So much."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena didn't sleep well the rest of that night. She was uncomfortable. Stefan of course didn't sleep well either, waking up every time she did. "I kept you up" Elena said, seeing Stefan standing at the window and looking out on that cloudy morning.

Stefan turned around. "I'm fine" he smiled, walking back to her. "How are you this morning?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Better, I think" she said. She was less drowsy, though still in some pain. "Could you do me a favor?" she asked, resting her hand on his leg.

"Anything" he smiled, covering her hand with his. "Can you go and find me a pair of sweats and a t-shirt?" she asked. "I think I will be more comfortable in those than this hospital gown" she added.

"I'll ask Alaric to go" he said, taking his phone out of his pocket.

Elena stopped him though. "No, I'd like you to do it" she told him. "You know my sizes and …" she hesitated. "I kind of need some underwear too" she added quietly, somewhat embarrassed.

"Oh" Stefan said. "Yeah, I'll do it myself then" he told her. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to be picking out his wife's underwear. "Do you want anything else? Something to eat?" he asked. She still really hadn't eaten, unless you counted the two tiny pretzels she ate.

"No" she said. "Just the clothes please."

"Okay" Stefan said, sighing. He would give anything to see her eat. "I'll be back in a little bit" he told her.

Elena gave him her best smile as he exited the room. Finally. A moment to herself. Stefan hadn't left her side since she had woken up. She leaned back and closed her eyes, only to open them when she heard her door open again.

"Hi" Damon said, letting himself into her room. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine" she answered. "Did Stefan send you in here?" she guessed.

"He didn't want you to be alone" Damon said, deciding not to lie to her. "He's worried" Damon added, taking a seat next to her bed. "He wants to make sure nothing else happens to you."

"That's what I'm afraid of" Elena sighed. "When we get home, he won't let me out of his sight" she added.

"He loves you" Damon said gently.

Elena looked at Damon for a moment. "I know he does. And that's what makes this so much harder" she said, fidgeting with her blanket. "I don't want him to see me like this. All beat up and stuff" she said, looking out her window. "He's trying so hard to be strong for me, but I know every time he looks at me, he thinks about how he couldn't be there to stop it."

"He's not the only one who feels guilty" Damon said, grabbing her attention again. Elena was about to say something but he cut her off. "Let me just say it, Elena" he told her, holding up his hand. "You relived a nightmare in order to protect my daughter. Not many people would put themselves through that for anyone, much less someone else's child" he said.

"I love her" Elena said, still looking into his eyes. "I brought Derrick into this family. It was my responsibility to protect her" she told him. "So don't feel guilty."

Damon nodded. He may not have agreed, but he understood where she was coming from. "He tried to kill him, you know" Damon said. "When he found Derrick at some bar. He pulled him outside and demanded Derrick tell him where you were. When he wouldn't, Stefan went nuts. I've never seen him so out of control" he admitted. "I knew he loved you. I guess I just never understood how important you were to him until I witnessed him doing that. I've never seen him so scared."

Elena took in everything he said carefully. "Did Stefan hurt him badly?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "He could barely breathe by the time we pulled Stefan off of him."

"Good" Elena said.

"The only reason we pulled Stefan off of him was because we knew Derrick would be the only one to tell us where you were" he added.

"Where is Derrick now?" Elena asked, suddenly getting a sick feeling in her stomach just from the thought.

"He's in jail" Damon told her. "I talked with the DA last night. Derrick won't be getting out for a really long time" he said. Elena broke eye-contact with him and sighed nervously. "Jail is the best place for him – besides Hell" he reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess" she said.

"So …" Damon said, feeling the need to change the subject.

"Is the party in here now?" Alaric asked, poking his head into her room.

"Hey man" Damon said, waving him on in. "We were just chatting while Stefan ran and got her some clothes" he explained.

"Oh, cool" Alaric said casually, walking to the other side of her bed and pulling up a chair. He set the bag he was carrying down beside him. "You look … alive" Alaric said, making a poor joke.

Luckily, Elena was okay with it. "Barely" she smiled. "But I'm getting better. I just wish they would let me out of here."

"I wish that for you too" Alaric said. "The people in the waiting room are scary. Can I sleep in here tonight?" he asked. "I'm afraid I'm going to wake up to my shoes being stolen" he explained.

Damon rolled his eyes. "That 80-year old woman is not going to steal your shoes" Damon said.

"You didn't see the way she was looking at them" Alaric scoffed. "They are one of a kind" he said, lifting is foot up for Elena to see him bright blue shoes.

Elena laughed. "Oh my God, where did you get those?" she asked.

"Some guy was selling them out of the back of his van" he explained. "I got you a pair too" he said, pulling out a pair of neon green ones for Elena.

Elena grabbed for the shoes and smiled. They were kind of ridiculous, but they were kind of cool too. "Thank you Alaric" she said, admiring them.

"I also brought candy" he said, pulling various packages of candy out. "From the gift shop, not the back of the van" he clarified. "Skittles, gummy bears, or peanut butter cups?" he offered.

"I'll have a few gummy bears" Elena said, finally seeing something that sounded okay to eat.

"Great, here you go" Alaric said, opening the bag for her and giving it to her. "Damon?" he asked.

"Skittles" he said, holding is hand out.

"So, Elena" Alaric said, thinking of a way to distract her and make her feel better. "Do you want to hear about the time Stefan peed his pants?" he asked.

Damon laughed. "Are you talking about that one time?" Damon asked.

Alaric nodded. They both scooted closer to Elena as Alaric jumped into the story. "He was 22. There was a storm and it had knocked out his power. So, Damon and I went over to his place to bring him a generator. We were getting it set up when I thought it would be a brilliant idea of hide in the stairwell once it got dark. He came walking around the corner, looking at his phone. I popped out and screamed" Alaric said, beginning to laugh so hard that he had to stop telling the story for a moment. "I have never heard Stefan scream like such a little girl. He was so scared, he had peed his pants" he finished, leaning over Elena's bed and laughing.

Damon and Elena were laughing too. It was infectious, and it was nice. "He really peed his pants?" Elena asked.

"Oh, he really did" Damon told her. "And not a little. Like, a lot. He full on peed himself" he added, bending over laughing. "It was so gross."

"I bet he was really mad at you" Elena smiled, looking at Alaric.

"He wouldn't talk to me for a week" Alaric grinned. "It was fun though" he smiled.

Elena sighed. "Thank you for that" she said, popping another gummy bear in her mouth. "I needed something to laugh about."

"Oh, we've got more" Damon assured her. He sat back in his chair and began to enlighten Elena on the funny happenings involving his brother.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan arrived back less than an hour later with her clothes. When he peeked inside her room, he saw Alaric and his brother talking with her, and she was smiling. She was also eating something. Gummy bears it looked like. "Hey" Stefan said, making his presence known.

Elena's smile disappeared instantly, which he thought was odd. "We've been keeping her company" Alaric informed him.

"I appreciate it" Stefan said, holing up the bag he had. "Do you want to change?" Stefan asked.

Elena nodded. "We'll see you later" Damon said and both he and Alaric kissed the top of her head, much like they would have done to Lily. "Get some rest" he told her.

"Here, I have one more pack of gummy bears" Alaric said, handing them to her. "For later" he winked.

"Thank you" Elena said, putting them aside. "And for my shoes" she added.

"You're welcome" Alaric said, following Damon out of the room.

Stefan shut the door and drew the curtain so she would have a little more privacy. He unpacked her clothes and laid them out for her. Gray sweats and a pink t-shirt. White underwear and socks. Elena slowly tried to get herself out of bed, but found it quite a challenge. "Let me help you" Stefan said, pulling her covers back and placing his hands around her waist. She winced and he immediately let go of her. "I'm sorry" he said, feeling guilty for hurting her.

"It's fine, Stefan" Elena said, sitting herself up. She fought hard not to groan from pain as she untied her gown. She saw Stefan looking helplessly at her and she couldn't take that anymore. "Can you please go and get a nurse to help me?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.

"I can help you" he said, though he was unsure how. He was her husband after all. He was supposed to take care of her.

"I would rather have a nurse in here" she bit out with frustration. She regretted it instantly when she saw him step back, clearly hurt.

He nodded though. "Okay" he said, the hurt evident in his voice. "I'll go get a nurse" he told her, leaving the room.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed, completely frustrated with herself. She was in so much pain though, and not all of it was physical. As much as she wanted to go home, she was dreading it that much more. Being alone with Stefan, after everything that happened, was going to be difficult.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: This story will be coming to an end here shortly as well. I'm not sure how many more updates. Maybe two or three. **

**I am still working on the power outage update for My Life Without You. It will be added to the end of that story. **

**THEN, I will start my new story. Everyone seemed to like the idea about two rivaling companies (The Salvatore's vs. a jerk CEO/Elena. Lots of banter/attempted seduction. Some angst, some Stefan in a towel. Probably someone or two will get drunk. Anything is possible). Stay tuned for that!**

**As always, please let me know what you think of this update. Thanks so much!**

Four days since she was admitted, and Elena was finally given permission by the medical staff to go home.

The last four days had been horrible for Stefan, who was currently sitting outside of Elena's room waiting for her to get ready. Elena had snapped at him every time he had tried to help with anything. When she wasn't snapping at him though, she wasn't talking to him. When he spoke to her, she would give him short responses like "Yeah" or "I don't know" or "Maybe". He knew if she had been brave enough, she would have kicked him out of her room altogether.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting upon Elena's return. This definitely wasn't it though. He did his best to let it roll off of his shoulders though, reminding himself that she was still hurting. In more ways than one.

Elena exited the room, carrying a bag with things that Stefan had given her. Stuffed animals, candy, books, and magazines. She braced herself for the long drive home with Stefan. He had offered to fly them home, but the last thing she wanted was to be on a stuffy airplane with a bunch of people looking at her. Then again, 7-9 hours alone in a car with Stefan didn't seem so great either.

Thankfully, she was able to persuade her brother and Bonnie to stay put. She would call them when she got home. The last thing she needed was two more people at home to worry about her. Stefan would have the worrying and overprotectiveness covered.

"Ready?" Stefan asked, giving her the best smile he could under the circumstances.

"I guess" Elena shrugged, allowing him to take her bag and following him to the nurse's station to check out. "Are Damon and Alaric going to follow us?" she asked when they were outside, walking quietly towards the car.

"They already left" Stefan answered. "Lily and Katherine are coming home tonight and he wanted to be home before them" he explained. He didn't have to turn around to see the worried look on her face. The fact that Damon and Alaric wouldn't be there for her to switch cars if she got tired of Stefan, worried her. He wouldn't pretend that it didn't hurt, but he wouldn't show it either.

Elena let herself into his car, wincing. The doctor had said her ribs would take the longest to heal. Stefan was at her side in an instant, grabbing her arms to help her. "Don't!" she scolded, yanking her arms out of his hands. "I've got it. I just need a moment" she said, refusing to look at him.

Stefan backed off, though he had to bite his tongue to point out that she did, in fact, need his help. When they got home, there would be no nurses to help her. He was all she had right now. Elena slowly made her way into the seat, closing her eyes tight to keep from crying. She got both her legs inside the car. He watched her again wince as she reached to close the door.

Frustrated. That's what he was right now and the longer he let it build up, the more he feared when it would be released. Elena didn't deserve his frustration on top of everything else she was dealing with.

Elena let out a breath she had been holding to prepare herself for the drive. Stefan started up his car and turned the radio on low. "Do you want to stop and get breakfast now or wait a little bit?" he asked her.

He watched Elena shrug out of the corner of his eye. Stefan sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long drive back home.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is Daddy home yet? Is he? Is he?" Lily asked, bouncing up and down on her toes as she looked expectantly at Zach.

Zach checked his watch. "No, not yet" he answered. "A few more hours. Are you all packed?" he asked. He had to, reluctantly, take Lily and Katherine to the airport soon. He would rather they stay with him until the Derrick situation was taken care of. But he wasn't going to argue with Damon.

"Uh huh" she nodded. "Aunt Elena and Uncle Stefan will be home tomorrow, right?" she asked, clarifying what little information everyone had given her. Zach nodded. "Can we buy our zoo tickets online so Uncle Stefan and Elena can take me when I go over?" she asked, barely containing her excitement.

Zach grabbed Lily, setting her on his knee. "Elena still doesn't feel very well" he told her softly, wanting to break the bad news to her as gently as he could. "She needs to stay home and rest. And so does your Uncle Stefan" he added. He watched disappointment spread across her little face and it hurt like hell to watch. "You might just have to go with your dad this time."

"But I want to take Aunt Elena so Uncle Stefan can buy us monkeys from the gift shop" she said as tears formed in her eyes.

Zach rubbed her back, hoping that this would not turn into an all-out tantrum. She had thrown three since she had been there. Once because she couldn't have pizza for dinner. Once because no one would take her to Savannah to see Elena. And once because she didn't want to go to bed. She was having a rough time being away from her home and her family. Zach understood that. "Then you might have to wait to go to the zoo until Elena feels better" he told her. "She has to be able to walk around a lot to see all the animals, right?" Zach asked. Lily nodded as she rubbed her eyes. "She's still a little ouchy, but I bet if you help take care of her, she will feel better in no time" he added.

"I can make her feel better" Lily agreed.

"I know you can" Zach said, kissing her head. "Why don't you and I go out to lunch?" he suggested. "Then we can get ice cream for dessert" he added.

"Okay" she said, less excited than she usually was.

"Okay" he said, kissing her head again and setting her back on her feet. "Go and get your shoes" he said, watching her walk off.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had stopped over an hour ago to get something for breakfast. Elena wasn't interested. She pushed her food around on her plate and drank very little of her juice. She was very well aware than people were staring at the bruises on her face. It brought back all the times people used to stare at her when she was with Derrick. Except this time, they were looking at Stefan with upmost disgust. She could tell he was bothered by it, though he took his time eating.

When they were back on the road, nothing changed. He rested his hand on her leg, needing some sort of affection to happen between them. Elena moved her leg out of his reach and moved closer to the door. He reached for her hand a little later, and again, she moved out of his reach. That was the last straw.

Stefan pulled over suddenly, shutting the car off. Elena's eyes were wide as she looked at him in shock. "I can't do this anymore" he stated, looking ahead.

Elena remained silent for a moment, thinking about how to respond to that. "Then divorce me" she said quietly. Her voice was defeated and it only frustrated him more. He got out of the car and slammed the door. He paced in front of it, trying to calm down.

Elena watched him, her heartbeat picking up as the minutes passed. She knew she was being unreasonable. She knew she was being irritable and shutting him out. Slowly, Elena got herself out of the car. She went around the front to talk to him. "I'm having a hard time right now …" she began.

"Really? I hadn't noticed" he bit out, a little too angrily.

It hurt. But she stood where she was, allowing her own frustration and anger to build inside of her. "I just went through hell" she said angrily, attempting to defend herself and her behaviors.

"So did I!" he yelled, turning to face her. Elena stepped back, suddenly speechless as she stood in front of him. He saw how frightened she looked and he mentally kicked himself. Rather than addressing her, he walked passed her.

And kept walking.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had been sitting in the car for an hour and Stefan still had not returned. He had walked across a field and disappeared. Elena had debated on whether or not to call someone. Maybe Damon or Caroline.

But she had decided against it because then they would want to know what happened and Elena would have to tell them what she had done – had been doing – to Stefan. She was parked off of the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. No cars had passed since she had been sitting there.

She sighed. She needed to go and find him. Apologize and remind him that she loved him. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, locking the doors. Slowly, she made the long trek across the field in search for him.

Just as she was about to give up, she saw him up ahead, staring out at a lighthouse on the water. His back was to her. As she approached, she noticed how tense he was. She stopped a few feet back and took a big breath, ready to talk to him confidently. She realized though, that she wasn't confident. She was scared. "Stefan?" she asked, her voice shaky and a lot weaker than she had wanted. Surprisingly, he turned to her, locked eyes with her, but said nothing. That was enough to cause her to break down into tears, even though she had told herself she wouldn't cry. "I don't want you to see me like this" she told him, tearing her eyes away from him.

Stefan stared at her for a moment, internally debating on whether or not to stay where he was or rush to her. He decided to stay put for now. "I'm your husband, Elena" he reminded. He was supposed to see her in every way possible. The good, the bad, and everything in-between.

Elena shook her head, wiping at a few stray tears. "You're the best husband in the world" she told him. It was true. He was amazing. "But I still don't want you to see me like this. You shouldn't have to suffer because of my past" she told him sadly. "Because right now, I'm a mess. And I don't know what to do and I hate how I treat you and I hate how you look at me and I hate myself and …" she rattled off until she didn't want to continue. She turned away from him, because his eyes were talking for him and she still understood exactly what he was saying. "I'm sorry" she said. "I can't do this." Tears began falling again as she slowly and painfully began walking away.

She didn't know how far she had made it before his hand had caught hers, stopping her. Maybe a few feet. "Yes you can" he said, effectively getting her to turn around and face him. She stared at his chest, her tears rolling off of her cheeks and falling to the ground. "You can do this" he told her, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it. "I love you, Elena. And I'm going to do everything to make sure we get through this" he promised.

"Am I really worth all the trouble?" she asked, meaning for it to sound like a joke, but realizing, she was serious too.

Stefan grabbed her chin gently, prompting her to look up at him. "You're my everything" he said quietly. "If I would have lost you, I …" he began, having to look away from her for a moment, scared that he would break down in front of her. He couldn't think about the what-ifs. "I can't imagine my life without you. So please, don't push me away. Let me help you. I need to help you" he said, finally looking back at her.

Elena took a small breath in, trying to calm herself. She leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, finding herself to be tiring quickly. "I don't want to push you away" she told him, closing her eyes and attempting to stop her tears.

"I know" he said, gently wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "I love you. Know that, okay?" he told her, kissing her head again. He sighed heavily.

"I know" Elena mumbled into his shirt. Sometimes, she wondered why though.

Stefan held on to her as tight as he could without hurting her. Thank God. He had her back. They were by no means back to what they had been before everything with Derrick and Lily had happened, but they were closer. He breathed her in, realizing that she didn't smell like the Elena he was used to. She smelled like hospital food and gift shop shampoo. He couldn't wait to get her home and try to give her normalcy. "We should get back on the road" he said quietly into her ear. He felt her nod against his chest. "Let me carry you" he said, shifting so he could grab under the back of her knees and carefully lift her up. She didn't protest this time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena noticed that Stefan looked over at her about a hundred times per every mile they drove. It was a little unnerving, because she was afraid he was going to catch her in a moment of pain and worry about her. She hated being worried about. She hated others taking care of her. Maybe that was the problem.

So when they stopped for dinner, she bit her tongue as he helped her out of the car. She had tried to convince him to get their food to go, but he insisted it would be good for them to get out of the car.

They sat down in the small diner. As he looked over the menu, she ripped the paper napkin in her lap into little pieces. "I have trouble letting people take care of me" Elena said quietly, continuing to demolish the napkin in her hands.

Stefan set his menu down slowly. She hadn't really spoken since he had taken her back to the car. "You're independent, I get that" he said, waiting for her eyes to meet his. When they finally did, he smiled. "But I let you take care of me after I got out of the hospital, so, fair is fair" he said, picking up his menu again.

She blew out a nervous breath. "You have a lot of work to catch up on" Elena pointed out, looking away from him and over at the salt and pepper shakers.

He dropped his menu again and reached across the table, grabbing her arms and pulling her hands into his. "The only thing I have to do, is take care of you" he told her. The honesty and sincerity in his voice melted her heart.

"You have to take Lily to the zoo, too" Elena reminded, letting a small smile form.

Stefan brought her hands to his lips and kissed them both. "She can wait until you feel well enough to go with us. After all, she wants to show you the zoo the most" he reminded. Elena simply nodded. "So, what do you want?" he asked, sensing that she was done talking for the time being. He was expecting her to not want anything again. The doctors had told him to be patient, but to offer her anything that sounded good.

"French fries sound kind of good" she said quietly. "And a strawberry banana smoothie" she added. Elena looked up at him to see if he approved.

He was ecstatic. He wouldn't show it, but he was. "If that's what sounds good, then I'll order it" he smiled lightly, setting their menus aside. He got up and went to the counter to order, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Ten minutes later, they had their food. She ate her French fries slowly and he enjoyed his breakfast platter. "Is yours good?" she asked, peering up at him momentarily, unable to sit in silence any longer.

He nodded. "Not bad" he told her. "Yours?" he asked, noticing that she was about halfway done with her meal.

"Really good" she said, holding out her smoothie for him to try. "We'll have to try and make these at home. Lily would love them" she said, eating another fry.

"It's really good" Stefan agreed taking a sip and handing it back to her. He could make those, no problem. "Toast?" he offered, holding out the plate for her. She eyed it for a moment before taking it. He also passed her a grape jelly packet.

"You remembered" she said, staring at the grape jelly before looking up at him. She had only mentioned to him once that she loved grape jelly, and that was quite a while ago.

"Only you and Lily love that stuff" he smiled, finishing his eggs. Throughout the rest of the meal, he offered her other things off of his plate until she finally had to refuse. She would get sick if she ate any more.

"I just need to use the restroom" she told him, sliding out of the booth carefully. He stood as well, ready to offer his help. "I'm okay" she told him. Though she rejected his help, she did so without hurting his feelings. It was progress.

Elena stood at the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. This was the first time she had really looked at herself since Derrick's latest handiwork on her face. She barely recognized herself. She had no makeup with her either to cover any of the bruises up. She was so pale too. She definitely was not the fairly attractive young woman Stefan had agreed to marry twice already.

A knock at the door made her heart stop and her body jump. "Elena? Are you okay in there?" Stefan asked.

Elena stood up a little straighter, took a few deep breaths, and went to unlock the door. Stefan was waiting patiently outside for her, though he had a worried look on his face. "I'm ready" she said, walking ahead of him and out of the diner.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They made it home just before ten that night. The house was dark and quiet and Stefan watched her turn every light in the house on. He let her though, understanding that the dark was so unwelcome to her after the ordeal she had been through. He helped her up the stairs and then ran back down to get her water, an ice pack, and her pain medication sorted out. By the time he made it back up, she was sitting on their bed with her pajamas in her hands. Well, a pair of sweats and one of his old flannel button down shirts. "I figured this would be easier to get on and off" she mentioned, holding up his shirt.

Stefan walked across the room and set everything on her nightstand. "I think so too" he said, kissing the top of her head. To be honest, there was nothing sexier than seeing her in one of his shirts, though, he figured now was not the time to announce that. He grabbed for the bottom of her shirt and she immediately reacted with fear, startling at his innocent move.

"I'm sorry" she said, seeing his hands drop down to his sides and the pained look spread across his face. "I'm just … I'm sorry" she said. She lifted her arms up slowly above her head and closed her eyes, waiting for him to pull the shirt off of her. Her bruised ribs nearly made him gasp – he hadn't seen her since he had found her. "That bad, huh?" she asked, slipping on his flannel shirt. Her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons until he took pity on her and took over.

Stefan didn't answer her, mostly because he didn't know what to say and because he was so exhausted from everything. Elena got her sweats on by herself and he helped her lean back into the bed and propped her up gently so she could take her medication. She lifted her shirt slowly and applied the ice pack to her ribs, biting her lip as a small scream escaped her. It was probably the most pain she had felt in quite some time. It broke Stefan's heart though, watching her suffer like this.

Once she was settled, he stood and changed out of his clothes. He turned the main light off, but left their lamps on the nightstands on. He crawled into bed, moving close to her and resting his head against her arm.

They stayed like that for quite some time and Stefan wasn't sure who fell asleep first. Neither had gotten a very good night's sleep anyway, but they were home and he was thankful for that.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was almost three in the afternoon when Elena woke up. Really woke up. Stefan had woken her up earlier so she could take her pain medication and to eat, but then she had fallen right back asleep. She was up now though and could hear whispering outside of the room. Then there was a light tap on the door before Damon stuck his head in. "You awake?" he asked.

Elena sat up some and nodded. "Yeah" she said, wincing slightly.

"Tell her you have a surprise for her" Elena heard Lily whisper loudly. Then she saw Damon smile. "Ask her to guess what it is" Lily added.

Elena smiled. "I have a surprise for you Elena. Can you guess what it is?" Damon asked, trying his best not to laugh at the little girl hiding behind him.

"Candy?" Elena guessed.

She heard Lily giggle at her answer. "Tell her it's better than candy" Lily whispered loudly again.

"A puppy?" Elena guessed again. Again, Lily giggled.

"Not quite" Damon said, finally grabbing Lily and holding her upside down as he walked into the room.

"It's me!" Lily laughed excitedly as Damon set her on her feet. "Elena!" she yelled, making a run for the bed, carrying a messenger bag on her shoulder.

Damon had Lily in his arms once again though, stopping her from pouncing on Elena and hurting her. "What did we just talk about?" Damon asked his squirming seven-year old. "No touching Elena until she's not so sore anymore" he reminded.

"Okay okay Daddy, jeez" she said, squirming out of his grasp. Lily made her way to the bed and climbed up, sitting on the other side of Elena. "I brought you stuff to make you feel better" Lily said, opening her bag. "A book" she informed, pulling out her favorite book about a puppy who got to play soccer. "Gummy worms" she said, setting them down too. "Spot" she added, pulling out a stuffed animal horse with a spot over its eye. "Curious George" she added, setting the DVD in the pile of growing items. "And your ticket to the zoo!" she said excitedly. "When you feel better, of course" she added.

Elena carefully leaned over and kissed Lily before wrapping her in a hug. Elena didn't care how much it hurt. Being away from Lily for so long hurt so much worse. "Are you going to read to me?" Elena asked.

Lily's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I practiced!" she informed her, snuggling up against Elena and opening up the book.

"Are you two good?" Damon asked.

"Yeah Daddy, I got it covered" Lily informed him, finding the first page in the book.

"We're fine" Elena smiled. Just before Damon turned to leave, she whispered a "thank you" to him. This is just what she needed.

"You two have fun. And Lily, if Elena needs a break, you go back downstairs and help your uncle, okay?" he told her.

"Okay Daddy" Lily said, only half listening to him. "This is the puppy and he is going to get picked to play on the soccer team" Lily explained, ruining the plot for the book. But Elena didn't care. She was only half listening to Lily anyways, paying more attention to how happy she was to have Lily safely in her arms.

Lily finished the book and turned to look at Elena. She studied her face and frowned. "Did the mean man do that?" Lily asked, pointing to Elena's face.

Elena frowned as well. "Yeah, he did" she told her honestly. "He's in big trouble now."

"Good" Lily said, still studying Elena's face. "You still look pretty" she added.

Elena half laughed, half smiled. "I love you so much" she told her.

Lily's face brightened instantly. "I know" she said, turning to grab her gummy worms. Elena ruffled her hair and accepted the gummy worm Lily offered her.

"How are you doing?" Elena asked cautiously.

"I'm good" Lily said, pulling her gummy worm in half. "But Daddy says I gots to go see someone and talk about the mean man" she added, less enthusiastically.

This caught Elena's interest. "Yeah?" Elena asked. A therapist. Damon and Katherine were going to have Lily see a therapist. "It will be a good thing though."

"Do you gotta go talk to someone about the mean man too?" Lily asked, offering Elena another gummy worm.

"I probably should" Elena told her, running her fingers through Lily's curls.

"Uncle Stefan should too" Lily said. "He's awfully sad cause of what the mean man did to you" she told her. "Daddy said it's good to talk about how you feel" she added.

"You're right" Elena agreed. "People should talk about how they feel." She kissed the side of Lily's head once more. "Do you want to talk to me about how you feel?" she asked.

Lily shook her head. "Nope. I'm okay now that you're home" she said, producing a beaming smile for Elena.

Elena smiled. "But you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Elena asked.

Lily looked at her for a moment. "I got something I want to talk about" she decided. Elena looked at her expectantly. "How does the baby get in the mommy's tummy?" Lily asked. This time, she looked at Elena expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Elena paled. Not this again. "You know who can answer that for you really good?" Elena asked.

"Who?" Lily asked.

"Alaric" Elena answered. "Next time you see him, you ask him, okay?" Elena asked. That would buy them all some time at least.

"Ooh, he's downstairs right now with Uncle Stefan!" she exclaimed. "I'm gonna go ask" she said, hopping off of the bed and running out of the room.

Elena laughed as she slowly reached for her phone. She sent Stefan a text that simply said "Sorry".

Stefan sent her one back, asking "Why?" It took about two minutes before he sent another one. "FML." Yes, Lily was downstairs now, asking them how babies got into a mommy's tummy.

Elena laughed, really laughed hard, for the first time since Derrick had her. It had hurt like hell, but it was worth it. Lily made everything so much better.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Probably one of the funnier updates I have done. Lily. You have to love her.**

**So, there will be two more updates for this story. I am not going to make it as long as the first story, just because I want a fresh start to a new story and starting Tuesday, I will only be able to handle one story. I will jump the time ahead though, because I know you are interested to see how little baby Brooke came to be : )**

**So, let me know what you think!**

"Well, how does the baby get in the mommy's tummy?" Lily asked again, looking back and forth between Alaric and her uncle.

Stefan ran his hand over his face. What the hell was he supposed to tell her? "When does she take that class that teaches her this stuff?" Alaric asked, looking to his friend so he didn't have to look at the expectant 7-year old in front of him.

"Not until 5th grade" Stefan said. He watched Alaric count on his fingers how many more years. They couldn't put it off for another three years.

"Alright Kid, I'm going to be straight with you" Alaric said, bending down to her level. Stefan held his breath, afraid of what his friend would tell his precious, innocent niece. "Babies grow inside the mommy's tummy. You know that, right?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, cause the mommy's tummy gets bigger and bigger" she said.

"Right" Alaric said. "Daddy's plant a … a … a seed in the mommy's tummy" he said, looking over at Stefan who looked mortified by Alaric's analogy because in all honesty, it was the truth. "And then that seed grows into a baby" Alaric explained.

"Oh" Lily said, recognition flashing across her curious little face. "Like a sunflower seed that grows into a sunflower?" she asked. "Cause we planted a sunflower seed in some dirt at school and watched it grow up big and tall" she explained.

"Yeah, kind of like a sunflower seed, but a little smaller" Alaric replied.

"Does the mommy like it when the daddy plants a seed in her tummy?" Lily asked.

Both Alaric and Stefan turned beat red, clearly uncomfortable with such an innocent question that had their dirty minds going elsewhere. "Most of the time, yeah" Alaric said, wishing the floor would swallow him up right then and there. "So, do you understand how babies get in a mommy's tummy now?" Alaric asked. Dear God he hoped so.

Lily nodded. "Uh-huh" she told him.

Alaric let out a breath he had been holding. "Good" he said, standing back up.

"Lily, why don't you go with Alaric to the store and help him pick out some snacks that Elena will like" Stefan said, hoping to get some alone time with Elena.

"Okay" Lily agreed. She rushed out of the room to find her shoes.

"That was horrible" Stefan said, leaning against the wall.

Alaric scoffed. "I'm the one who did all the talking" he said, glaring at his friend. "Hopefully, she'll give that question a rest until she's …" he began, only for Stefan to finish for him.

"Married" Stefan stated, giving his friend a hard look. "No baby-making until she's married" he clarified.

"If you say so" Alaric laughed, loving that his dear friend assumed Lily wouldn't be interested in boys until she was much, much older. "I better go find her. Anything in particular you want from the store?" Alaric asked.

"Not really" Stefan stated. "Just watch what she throws in the cart. She will try and buy everything in sight that she wants. Stress that you are shopping for Elena" Stefan explained.

"Alrighty" Alaric stated, waving to his friend as he left the room. How hard could it be, shopping with Lily?

Stefan sighed before retreating the kitchen to make Elena something to eat.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily got to walk alongside the cart at the store. Alaric was too busy texting Caroline to realize that Lily was throwing random items into the cart. Gummy worms, Oreos, Doritos, popcorn, Skittles. It wasn't until they were down another aisle and she was putting in a large can of beer that Alaric finally noticed. He looked up to find several women shaking their heads at him in disgust that he would let a little girl grab beer for him. "Lily" Alaric scolded lightly, grabbing the beer and putting it back.

She shrugged. "It's pretty looking" Lily told him, attempting to put another can of beer into the cart. This time, a green colored one.

"Stop that!" Alaric said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back away from it. "Kids don't drink beer" he said, picking her up and stuffing her into the front of the cart. He finally took notice at how much stuff she had in there. "Elena eats all of this stuff?" he asked skeptically.

"Uh huh" Lily nodded. Alaric sighed. Grocery shopping with her was a lot more work than he had thought. "Are you texting your girlfriend?" Lily teased.

Alaric pocketed his phone and stuck his tongue out at her. "None of your business" he told her.

They were silent as they went to the counter to check out. Alaric began placing all of the items on the counter. The woman behind the cash register was smiling at Lily. Lily was being her cute self, welcoming the attention. "She's not as cute as she looks" Alaric mumbled to himself.

When he went to pay, she decided to really be her cute, adorable self. "Alaric, how does a baby come out of the mommy's tummy?" she asked, looking at him. The woman behind the cash register giggled, waiting for his answer.

"They just come out" he said, giving her a short, vague response.

"But how?" she asked, clearly not going to give up on finding out the answer.

"At the hospital. The doctor takes the baby out" he said in a clipped tone, trying to shut her up.

But, the cashier was loving every minute of it. "She's precious" she said, giving Alaric a warm, flirtatious smile. He smiled at her too.

Lily rolled her eyes. "He's got a girlfriend" she announced. "Her name's Caroline and she's blonde. He likes blondes" Lily announced to the brunette behind the counter.

"Oh" the cashier said, looking back down at the register as she totaled the sales. Alaric paled at seeing how uncomfortable the clerk was. That damn kid. Though, he couldn't help but feel some pride that Lily was looking out for his and Caroline's relationship. Because Alaric really did like Caroline. "That will be $348.94" she said.

Alaric paled again. "You bought $350.00 worth of crap?" he asked Lily.

"No" Lily said, pointing at the lit up total on their screen. "$348.94" she corrected. "Maybe you need to go back to school and learn how to count money" she told him, her fiery attitude back and ever present.

Alaric cursed under his breath as he handed the woman his credit card. Stefan was going to pay him back. He grabbed all 23 bags of groceries and piled them into the cart. "Come on" he said, wheeling Lily out. "You're expensive" he told her as they exited the store.

"But I'm worth it" she said, giving him a cute, innocent smile that almost fooled him. Almost.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan wasn't sure how much time he had before Lily and Alaric would return. He also wasn't sure when Damon would be back to get Lily. He probably wanted alone time with Katherine.

Stefan peeked through the slightly open door to see Elena sitting up in bed, checking her phone. "I brought something to eat" he said, entering the room. Elena set her phone down as he approached. "Mini sandwiches, apple slices, crackers, and cheese" he said, setting the tray down on her nightstand.

"You didn't have to do that" she said, sitting up slightly more. "I could have come downstairs to eat" she added. She caught the nervous look he had, like he had made a mistake. "But thank you, for saving my ribs the trip down there" she said quickly, giving him a small smile.

He let himself breathe again. "I sent Lily and Alaric to the store" he told her.

"You sure that was a good idea?" Elena asked.

"No" Stefan smiled. He honestly thought it was a horrible idea. Elena smiled though. "By the way, I think we handled the baby in the tummy question for a while at least" he added.

"I'm sure she'll have a new question for us soon" Elena said, reaching over and grabbing for an apple slice. She reached for her glass and saw that it was apple juice. "Can you get me water?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't be too much trouble. But that is what sounded good.

"Yeah, of course" he said, leaving to get it for her. She grabbed her phone again, finishing her text to her brother. Stefan was back soon enough with a glass of water. "Thanks" she said, taking a sip from it.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked, reaching out to touch her leg, but then thinking better of it.

She saw how hesitant he looked. So she grabbed his hand and placed it on her leg. "It doesn't hurt there" she said, smiling up at him before she grabbed for another piece of apple. He smiled as well, sitting down next to her on the bed. But there was still a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm just so grateful that you're sitting here with me" he told her. She didn't have to look hard to see the tears glistening his eyes finally. He really had been trying to hold everything in for her, hadn't he?

She put the rest of her apple slice down and motioned for him to come closer. "Come here" she said, wrapping her arms around him as he lay gently against her. "It's okay. You can cry" she told him sadly, realizing that maybe that is what he needed. Permission and time to cry after everything.

"Everything hurt when I thought I was going to lose you" he said, gripping her sweatshirt tightly as he cried into the side of her ribs that were not hurting. "I was so scared" he mumbled, moving closer to her still.

Elena rubbed his upper back gently, yet firmly as she listened to him. This, consoling him, was what she was good at. This made sense for her. "It's okay" she soothed quietly, continuing to rub his back. "I'm here" she said softly.

"I promised you that life was over" he said, and she could barely hear him with his face buried into her sweatshirt.

There it was though. The guilt that he was letting control him. She couldn't let that consume him. "Hey" she said, her fingers slowly making their way to his face. "Look at me" she said. Slowly, he lifted his tear-stained face so she could see him. "There will always be things that are out of your control, Stefan. What happened to me was one of them. Yes, it was horrible and yes, I need time. But you have got to stop beating yourself up for it. Because I can't move on if you can't either" she said, hearing her own voice crack some as she spoke to him.

He nodded and then turned his eyes away from her, completely frustrated with himself. "You're the one that's hurting the most and I'm the one crying here like a baby" he said, wiping at his tears.

Elena reached out and wiped away one that he missed. "We all need to cry sometimes" she said, smiling weakly at him. "We're both going to be okay" she added, brushing her thumb over his cheek.

He looked into her eyes, wondering how she could be so strong at a time like this. He leaned in a little closer to her, welcoming the comfort that being close to her brought. "I love you" he said quietly.

"I love you, Stefan" she said, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him in slowly for a hug. He tensed at first, not wanting to hurt her, but with a little encouragement from her, he slowly settled his arms around her, sighing contently when he rested his face in the crook of her neck. "So much" she whispered, letting her eyes close as she held onto him.

"Please don't leave me" he whispered as his warm tears fell against her neck.

She held on to him just a little tighter, knowing that his statement meant more than her simply walking out. He couldn't stand the thought of her being physically present, but not emotionally. She too thought that might be even worse. "I won't" she whispered back, feeling her own tears emerge as she kissed the side of his head. "I won't."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as they had heard Lily's voice filling the house downstairs, Stefan and Elena had parted, not wanting Lily to see them so vulnerable. Elena smiled weakly as she wiped away a few of his straggling tears and leaned in, kissing his cheek gently. "It'll be okay" she promised, giving him one last encouraging statement before he got up and left.

Lily came bounding into the room minutes later, hugging ten or so items to her chest as she climbed up onto the bed. "What's all that?" Elena asked.

"Snacks" Lily informed her. "Alaric bought them for us" she added. Gummy worms, cookies, chips, snack cakes, juice boxes, and a few other things buried underneath. Lily grabbed one of the packages and carefully opened it. "Here, you got to eat this" Lily said, handing Elena a shelled sunflower seed.

Elena took the seed and looked at her curiously. "Why do I have to eat it?" Elena asked. She hadn't eaten sunflower seeds since she was a kid. Usually at Jeremy's baseball games.

"So a baby can grow in your tummy" Lily told her, looking at her with anticipation.

Elena's mouth fell open slightly as she took in what Lily had just told her. "Sweetie, who told you a sunflower seed would make a baby grow in my tummy?" she asked, realizing the answer as soon as the question left her mouth. Alaric.

"Alaric said a daddy puts a sunflower seed in the mommy so a baby will grow in her tummy" Lily informed her. "But Uncle Stefan's busy right now, so I'm gonna do it for him" she added. "So eat it. That way the baby will be here by my next birthday!" she said excitedly.

Precious. That's the only word that Elena could use to describe Lily right now. She wanted this baby probably more than either Elena or Stefan at this point. "Come here" Elena said, holding her arms out for Lily. Lily settled right next to her. "I think Alaric didn't do a very good job of telling you how a baby gets in a mommy's tummy" Elena said, realizing that she was going to have to answer this question herself. "Mommies don't eat sunflower seeds to grow a baby" she began.

Lily looked up at her, confused. "But Alaric said it was a seed and when I asked if it was a sunflower seed, he said yes" she said, utterly confused.

Elena smiled before kissing the top of her head. A seed, huh? "Your uncle and I have to first decide that we want a baby, and when we do, we will make one" she explained.

"And then you will grow it in here?" Lily asked, pointing to Elena's stomach.

"That's right" Elena said, thinking that Stefan really got the best end of the deal out of it all. Deciding to stick with the sunflower seed analogy, she continued. "You remember when you grew sunflowers in class?" Elena asked. Lily nodded. "Do you remember all the things you needed to make them grow? The soil, the planter, the water, sunlight, and the seed?" she asked.

"Uh huh" Lily nodded, her eyes glued to Elena in fascination.

"Well, that's kind of how a baby is made" she explained. "You have to have everything ready and everything has to be just right for a baby to grow" she continued. "But your Uncle Stefan and I don't have everything we need yet to grow a baby, which is why we are waiting a little while."

"Can you go to the store and buy everything you need?" Lily asked, trying to speed the process up.

Elena smiled, but shook her head. "No Honey" Elena told her. "You can't buy all the things you need to make a baby in the store. They are already inside of us."

Lily raised her eyebrow thoroughly confused once again. "I don't understand" she said.

"Stefan and I already have everything we need to make a baby" she said, choosing her words carefully. "We just have to … wake them up and tell them that we want to use them to make a baby" she explained.

"Oh" Lily said. "So, everything you need to make a baby is sleeping?" she asked. Elena nodded. "Wake them up" Lily said.

Again, Elena shook her head no. "They won't wake up until your uncle and I are ready to have a baby" she tried again.

"When will you be ready?" Lily asked.

Elena shrugged. "I don't know" she told her, smoothing out her hair. "One day" she said, hoping that was true. She loved Stefan too much to leave him if he didn't want a baby. "Does any of that make sense now?" Elena asked.

"Yeah" Lily said, sighing. "I bought these sunflower seeds for nothin'" she said, tossing them aside and crossing her little arms over her chest.

Elena laughed. "Not for nothing" Elena said, grabbing them. "Why don't we go sit out on the back porch and I'll teach you how to spit the seed out and eat them" she said.

Lily's eyes lit up. "Cool!" she said, hopping off the bed and going around to help Elena up. Elena bit the inside of her lip. Damn, she still hurt. Definitely no baby-making anytime soon.

Slowly, Elena made her way downstairs. She saw Alaric and Stefan talking, both looking up at her and wondering what she was doing out of bed. "Gentlemen" Elena said, nodding at them and daring either of them to make a comment about how she shouldn't have been down there.

"Aunt Elena's gonna teach me how to spit sunflower seeds!" Lily informed them excitedly. Lily ran on ahead of Elena and out the back door.

Elena stopped at the bottom of the stairs and held on to the banister to steady herself. "FYI" Elena said, looking at them both. "Your niece tried to impregnate me with a sunflower seed" Elena said, looking at Stefan and tossing the seed she had in her hand at Alaric. "Never, ever apply for a sex education position Alaric" she added, a satisfied smirk appearing as she slowly followed after Lily.

Alaric and Stefan looked at each other before laughing. Leave it to Lily to take what Alaric said seriously and to try it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily and Elena had made it back inside long before it got dark out. Lily was in the kitchen helping Stefan make dinner while Elena was camped out on the couch, flipping through the channels.

The front door opened and Elena froze. Derrick was still locked up, but her sense of security when Stefan was out of eyesight was still lagging. Katherine stopped as soon as she saw Elena, clearly surprised to see her downstairs. "I'm just here for Lily" she finally said.

Elena nodded. "She's in the kitchen with Stefan" Elena told her, finding the conversation to be overwhelmingly awkward.

Katherine began walking towards the kitchen, but stopped, looking back at Elena. "I'm not going to gravel at your feet or say thank you for what you did for Lily" Katherine said, staring at her. "But thank you" she added. "What happened to you was horrible …" she trailed off.

"But it would have been unbearable for Lily to have gone through it instead" Elena finished for her. Elena understood. After all, that is the reason she had gone after Lily and convinced Derrick to let Lily go. "I did what I had to do. She's your daughter, but she means everything to me too" Elena said quietly. "So, I don't want your sympathy or your guilt" Elena said curtly.

Katherine nodded. "Good" she said, continuing on her way.

Elena leaned back and sighed contently. She and Katherine understood each other at least. "But Mommmmmmmmmmy" Lily whined, coming out of the kitchen with Katherine. "I wanna stay with Uncle Stefan and Elena" she said, pouting.

"Your dad and I are taking you out to dinner" Katherine informed Lily, sitting her on the couch next to Elena and grabbing her shoes to help her get them on. "Wherever you want, so think about it on the way to pick your dad up" Katherine added.

"The Grill!" Lily shouted out.

"Tell Elena goodbye" Katherine told her.

"Bye Elena" Lily said, crawling over to her and giving her a gentle hug. "I love you" she said, placing a big kiss on her uninjured cheek.

"Love you too" Elena said, returning the kiss.

Lily climbed off of the couch and Katherine followed her out.

Stefan appeared, carrying two plates and two bottles of water. "Pizza" Stefan announced, handing Elena a plate with homemade pizza on it. "Lily's idea" he added.

Elena smiled. It would be one of the first real meals she would eat since she had been home. "Thank you" Elena said. She watched Stefan make his way to the nearby chair. "Sit by me" she said, patting a spot next to her.

He happily obliged, sitting as close to her as he could. "Did Katherine behave herself?" Stefan asked.

Elena took a bite of her pizza and nodded. The cheese ran down her chin and Stefan came to her rescue, grabbing it. "This is really good" Elena said after she swallowed. He noticed how much brighter her eyes looked and it warmed his heart. Maybe a good dose of Lily was just what she had needed. She smiled at him as he looked at her. "What?" she asked.

"You look happy again" Stefan said softly. "And I want to kiss you" he added.

Elena smiled, feeling happier too. "Then kiss me" she told him.

And he did, leaning in slowly, pressing his lips firmly against hers, and making it count. After all, he had a lot of kisses to catch up on.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Eek! One more update! And, I have been asked to do an epilogue for this one as well. A little Baby Brooke and Daddy piece. So, really, it is like two more updates!**

**I had never planned to write this sequel, but so many of you convinced me to do it and I am glad I did. :)**

**Please let me know what you thought of this update :D I did jump time just a wee bit. **

"So, things have been going well for you I take it?" Dr. Kosser asked, notepad open and pen ready to write down anything Elena had to say during the session.

Elena nodded enthusiastically. Sure, she had had a bit of a setback when she had to testify against Derrick. Being in the same room as him and seeing him look at her with absolutely no remorse had affected her more than she had cared to admit. When it was over, she had gone back to shutting Stefan out and he had talked her into seeing a psychologist. Reluctantly, Elena had agreed.

And it had been the best decision she had ever made. Twice a week for the last month she had been working with Dr. Kosser; working on her thoughts and feelings not only from her recent ordeal with Derrick, but also working through everything that had happened since the day she had met Derrick. Sure, she had a lot of work to go, but both she and Dr. Kosser were very happy with her progress. Elena was a very eager and willing client, participating in session and also completing homework at home. Her main reason for going at first had been to make herself better for Stefan. A few weeks in and she began to appreciate working to better herself, for herself too.

"I feel really good" Elena told Dr. Kosser, a huge smile on her face. "I've started yoga classes" she added. "And volunteering at the local animal shelter." All ideas Elena had come up with when Dr. Kosser had asked Elena to try and do things she liked to do – things that relaxed her.

The doctor smiled. "And how are things with you and your husband?" she asked.

Elena smiled again. "Really good" she said. "Maybe even better than before, if that is possible" she added. "We've been doing that exercise every night, you know, the one where we take five minutes to talk to each other about any concerns we had during the day."

"Good" the doctor smiled, making a few notes in her notepad. "It sounds like things are really improving for you, Elena. So what do you say we have you come in and see me once a week from here on out?" she asked.

Elena pondered that for a moment. "Yeah, I think we could do that" Elena agreed.

The rest of the session went on as usual. Elena worked on how she felt before, during, and after Derrick. She then compared those feelings to the way she felt with Stefan.

When the session had ended, Elena went to her favorite little antique store, having had her eye on a really old silver pocket watch she knew Stefan would love. "Good afternoon" the store owner said, smiling as Elena entered.

"I'd like to see the pocket watch please" Elena said. He grabbed it out of the window case and handed it to her. Elena examined it closely. It really was old. "How much?" she asked.

"Two hundred" he said. Elena opened up her purse and grabbed her wallet. She took out two hundred dollars and handed it to him. She then waited for him to wrap it and place it in a small gift box. "This must be for someone very special" he said, handing it to her.

Elena smiled. "He's definitely special alright" Elena said, thanking him before she went back out into the chilly air. She still had to pick up a few things for dinner before she headed home.

When she did finally walk through the front door an hour later, Stefan was there to greet her and to help with the groceries. "Hi" he smiled, kissing her quickly before heading into the kitchen to help put things away. "How was your session today?" he asked. He would never ask her to divulge what she discussed, but he liked to know how it was going for her.

"Really good" she answered, putting a box of cereal away. "We talked about you a lot" she said teasingly.

He might have been worried had he not seen that she was smiling. "Only good things I hope" he said, putting away some vegetables.

Elena walked to him, slipping her arms around him. "I told her how amazing you are. And how much I love you" she said, kissing his shoulder before letting him go.

He didn't let her go too far though, pulling her back to him and kissing her. Elena smiled as she let herself come down from the high that his kiss had just given her. "And how did that make you feel?" he asked jokingly, earning him a smack on his leg from her.

"You're so funny" she said sarcastically, finishing up with putting things away. "I have something for you, by the way" she said, digging through her purse. He made his way over to her, curious as to what she had for him. When she handed him the blue gift box, he smiled at her, looking at it. "Open it" she said, barely being able to contain her excitement. It was always him buying her things. It was about time she started buying him things too.

Stefan slowly unwrapped the box to find an antique silver pocket watch. He picked it up and examined it before a bright smile spread across his face. "This is awesome" he said, looking at her. "This has to be from the early 1900's" he added. He was a sucker for old things. "Thank you" he said, extending his arm out to pull her into a hug.

"I saw it and thought you might like it" she said, feeling his lips press against her forehead.

"I love it. I'm going to stick it with the old coins I have" he told her, putting it back in its box. "Speaking of gifts, I have something for you too" he told her, opening up the drawer in the kitchen and pulling out an envelope. "Open it" he said, handing it to her.

Elena did so, looking up at him when she took out the contents. The realization hit her fairly quickly. "Ireland?" she asked, failing miserably to hide the excitement coursing through her at the moment. She had always wanted to go to Ireland. He nodded, smiling as well because her excitement was infectious.

"You told me when we first met that you had always wanted to go to Ireland" he reminded her. "So, I am taking my beautiful, amazing, generous, and loving wife to Ireland" he said, barely having time to open his arms before she flung herself into them.

"Stefan, you are the amazing one!" she all but squealed like a small child. "When do we leave?" she asked, pulling back just slightly so she could see his satisfactory smirk.

"After Thanksgiving. We'll be back in plenty of time for you to get ready for Christmas" he told her. His first real Christmas with her. The last one hadn't counted because they hadn't liked each other all that much.

"God I love you" she said, leaning in and kissing him hard. Unfortunately, it ended almost as soon as it began. She was untangling herself from him before he could stop her. "I have to go and call Caroline and Bonnie" she said over her shoulder as he watched her run out of the kitchen.

He laughed, because really, that was all he could do, standing alone in his kitchen, totally deprived of her physical contact. Her happiness was worth it though.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

True to Stefan's word, they had made it back home from Ireland with plenty of time to prepare for Christmas. Two weeks to be exact.

Ireland had been amazing. Stefan had gone all out, putting them up in world famous chateaus and including so many tours to places she had never even heard of before. Of course, there was plenty of time for them to go off on their own, too.

Stefan had made a checklist of things he wanted to do while in Ireland. Elena thought it was a great idea, so she had made one before she left too. Her list included things such as, trying Irish dishes and drinking at a local pub.

Stefan's list included having sex in Ireland. That literally was the only item on his list when Elena had finally asked to see it. So, he decided to put a check next to it every time they did have sex in Ireland, telling her he had a personal goal of 8 times. And they had done it 8 times, because she wanted him to achieve something on their trip.

Needless to say, she was exhausted when she dropped her bags inside their front door. She shuffled into the living area and collapsed onto the couch. Stefan wasn't far behind her, landing almost on top of her. He sighed. "Should we unpack and make dinner?" Elena asked, slipping her hands under his shirt and rubbing his back.

Stefan groaned, clearly against that idea. "Let's stay right here, and order in" he said, turning his face in towards her neck and kissing her. "I'm so tired" he sighed. "But spending two weeks with you in Ireland was totally worth it" he said.

Elena smiled. "I bet just spending two weeks in Ireland would be worth it" she told him.

He shook his head no though. "Nope. Wouldn't have been worth it if you weren't there" he told her. "And not just because of the sex, which was amazing, by the way" he smiled, kissing her neck again. "It was a lot of fun seeing a new place with you" he told her honestly.

"Aren't you sweet" Elena told him in a teasing manner. They settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "We should take Lily there one day" she said thoughtfully.

He popped his head up quickly and looked at her confused. "How would we have sex with Lily with us?" he asked, a slow smile forming.

Elena rolled her eyes. "We wouldn't" she said, rolling him off of her. She got up off of the couch.

"Don't leave me" he pouted, leaning over the edge of the couch and wrapping both his arms around both of her legs, nearly knocking her over.

Elena laughed, sitting back down on the couch with him. "I'm going to shower. Wanna join me?" she asked.

His eyes lit up like a small child seeing his Christmas presents all wrapped and placed under a tree on Christmas morning. "Umm yeah" he said, scrambling up off of the couch. He grabbed her, throwing her over his shoulder and hauling ass out of the room, up the stairs, and into the bathroom.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was early the day before Christmas as Elena was sneaking back into the house. She had just left the animal shelter she volunteered at.

Stefan was nowhere in sight as she tiptoed across the living area towards the stairs. "What are you doing?" she heard him ask. Elena spun around quickly, her arms folded around something . "What do you have?" he asked, walking into the room.

"Nothing" Elena said innocently. Though, she knew she was caught. Stefan approached her, pulling her arms apart slightly and unfolding a blanket. A small furry head popped out from the blanket and looked at Stefan. Stefan looked at Elena. She had the same look on her face that Lily had when she wanted something she knew she couldn't have, but knew she would get anyway eventually. "She's the only one that didn't get adopted out" Elena said, jumping right in with a pleading, almost begging voice. "I didn't want her to spend Christmas alone" Elena said with sad eyes as she looked at Stefan.

Stefan sighed. He didn't want an puppy in the house. Especially one that might go to the bathroom all over everything. "Elena …" he said.

"Please Stefan" she said, sticking out her bottom lip as she begged. "Just until after Christmas. Then we can find her a new home" she told him.

Stefan sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "I know you, Elena" he began. "And I know that if you keep this puppy for two weeks, you won't be able to give her up" he told her. Elena did not deny this nor confirm it. "So, you might as well go to the store and get her everything she needs to live here with us" he said. Yes, he caved. Yes, there were only two females in the entire world that could make him cave like that.

"Thank you!" Elena said, wrapping an arm around him and hugging him. Elena pulled away from him and brought the puppy out of the blanket, holding her out to Stefan. "Her name is Mimi" Elena told him, placing the puppy in his arms. Mimi licked Stefan's chin and Elena smiled brightly. "She already loves you" she told a less than thrilled Stefan. Stefan laughed at his wife. The dog would probably lick anything. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go and get the sweater I bought her" she said, disappearing out the front door.

"Well Mimi, you make Elena happy. So, I suppose you can't be all bad" he told the little puppy. He wasn't quite sure what breed the dog was. It kind of looked like a rat to him. But, he scratched behind her ears.

Then, he felt something warm against his chest. He pulled the puppy away and saw that she had peed on him and his shirt was soaking it up. "You are SO lucky I love Elena" he said, heading to the laundry room to change shirts.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily loved the new puppy. And it loved her too. They chased each other around the house, outside in the yard, and were eventually found curled up together in her beanbag chair under a blanket a few hours before Christmas Eve dinner was to be served.

"She loves that little rat dog" Damon said as he stood in the kitchen with Elena and helped prepare dinner. "Maybe I should buy her one" he added, tossing a few more ingredients into his casserole salad.

Elena watched Lily walk by, the little dog following her. She was telling it all about Christmas and what kinds of presents she was hoping to get. "Let her take that one home" Elena said quietly, moving next to Damon.

He turned and stared at her for a moment. "That's your dog" he pointed out.

Elena shrugged. "I was supposed to only foster her anyway and then find her a new home after Christmas. I think she would be a lot happier with Lily. She seems to love kids" Elena smiled, finishing up with decorating the sugar cookies.

"You sure?" Damon asked.

"I'm sure" she said, smiling one last time before she went looking for Stefan. She didn't need to look far. He was wrapping presents for Lily upstairs. "So which ones are from Santa and which ones are from you?" she asked teasingly as she walked towards him, wrapping her arm around him and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"It's about 50/50" he smiled, admiring all the gifts he had bought her. It was the same every year. He bought more presents than any kid would ever need and marked half of them as from Santa and half of them as from him. Lily was always too busy tearing into them to care who they were from anyway.

"I think you have tough competition this year" Elena said. He looked down at her curiously and saw her smile. "I just gave her my dog" she told him.

"You love that dog though" Stefan told her. He couldn't say he was sad, especially after it had peed on him and found its way into their bed sleeping between them. But he knew Elena loved that little rat.

"I do" she said. "But you should see Lily and that dog. They belong together" Elena smiled.

Stefan leaned down some and kissed the top of her head. "That's why she loves you so much. Because you think of her before yourself" he said, tossing the last wrapped present aside.

Lily ran in moments later, the little dog right behind her. "Aunt Elena, you're giving me Mimi?" Lily asked with such surprise and such excitement that Elena couldn't help but smile.

"I think she belongs with you" Elena told her, smiling when she saw the little dog sitting next to Lily, looking up at her.

Lily broke out into a huge smile as she ran towards Elena. "Thank you!" she yelled, throwing her arms around Elena. Lily let go of Elena not long after and went running out of the room with the little dog yapping behind her.

Stefan watched Elena look sadly at the door. He put his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. "Do I need to find you another puppy?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "No, I'll be okay" she laughed sadly, wrapping her arms around him too. They walked out of the room together.

Once downstairs, the door opened and in walked Caroline and Alaric, each holding a handful of bags. Jeremy and Bonnie squished their way in behind them. Lily's eyes lit up upon seeing even more Christmas bags and people. She wasn't sure where to go first as she made her way over. They all took their time giving Lily hugs and kisses and shooing her out of the gift bags.

Mimi ran towards Alaric and he freaked out. "Gah, rat!" he yelled, jumping from one foot to the other to avoid it.

Lily grabbed the dog and glared at him. "Her name is Mimi and she's not a rat. She's a … a … Aunt Elena what's she again?" Lily asked, turning to Elena for help.

Elena smiled. "A Chihuahua mix" Elena told her.

"Yeah, a Chihuahua mix" Lily corrected him.

"Oh she's so cute" Caroline gushed, reaching out and plucking the puppy from Lily's hands. "I want one" Caroline whined, turning to Alaric.

"No" he said simply before disappearing into the kitchen.

Caroline and Lily shared a look before giggling as they followed Alaric. Elena made her way over to her brother and Bonnie, giving them each an extra-long hug. "I'm so glad you two could make it" she told them.

"Us too" Bonnie said, smiling at Jeremy. "Can we help with anything?" she asked.

"Nope, just make yourself at home" Elena told Bonnie, ushering for Stefan to come and take care of their bags.

Stefan and Jeremy watched the girls walk off, chatting away as they did. "Why don't you go into the kitchen and grab a drink. I'll take these up to your room" Stefan told him.

"Sure, thanks" Jeremy said, finding his way to the kitchen.

Stefan grabbed the bags and headed up the stairs, depositing them in a guest room. He looked up and saw Katherine sitting in the window, looking out. "It started snowing" she said, holding her glass of wine between her hands.

Stefan looked out and noticed that it was in fact, snowing. "What are you doing up here by yourself?" he asked, walking into the room a bit more.

Katherine shrugged. "I'm not in a social mood" she told him. "You know, your house, your family" she said before taking another sip of her wine.

"Your husband and daughter are downstairs. They're your family" Stefan reminded.

"They're bonding with the rest of your family. I'd rather not get in the way of that" she shrugged again, looking back out the window.

Stefan sighed. "Don't be like that Katherine. If we didn't want you here, we wouldn't have invited you, trust me" he said, coming to sit down across from her in the window. "Where's all of this pitiful wallowing coming from anyway?" he asked.

Katherine raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not wallowing" she told him, taking another sip of her drink.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving her a pointed look that told her he knew something was up and that she had better start talking.

"You care all of a sudden?" she asked. Though he could tell there was relief somewhere in her voice, she was shielding that with a snarky attitude.

He didn't play into the snarky part though. "What's wrong?" he asked instead.

She held his eyes for a few moments before giving up and looking back out the window. "My family invited me to come and visit in a few weeks" she said, staring at a particularly large snowflake as it went by. "They want to meet Lily."

Stefan sat up some. "Are you going to go?" he asked curiously.

Katherine shrugged. "No. Maybe" she said, laughing to herself. "I haven't spoken with these people in over a decade. I left for a reason" she said, looking down at her wine glass. "But …" she trailed off.

"They're family" Stefan said, smiling softly at her. He understood that. "So, whatever you decide to do, remember you have family downstairs too" he added, patting her lower leg before he stood up. "You also have a new dog" he added as he began walking out of the room.

"What?" she asked.

"Elena gave Lily her puppy" Stefan grinned as he turned around to look at her. "Cute as can be, but, she's not potty trained. Or any kind of trained, really. Have fun" he said before disappearing out of the room.

Katherine downed the rest of her wine before getting up and going in search of this new dog she had acquired. Turns out, it was the perfect size for a brand new Coach purse Damon could buy her for when Lily wanted to bring the dog shopping with them.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: After this, there is an epilogue as well. I skipped time again, because as much as I would love to write years' worth of Stefan and Elena, I just don't have the time. Sigh. But, I hope you enjoy it all the same.**

Almost three years later and you would have never known that Stefan and Elena had been through hell and back thanks to Derrick.

Stefan and Elena were still your typical young married couple. They fought about the small things and waited for the other to cave first and come crawling back, begging for forgiveness. They still chased each other around the house, laughed, and held hands like any young couple might do. They also continued to travel, adding many places in Europe and Asia to their list. Of course, much of their time was spent with Lily too.

Elena walked into the kitchen, passing Katherine who was perched at the breakfast bar, reading through the latest issue of Vogue. Katherine, Damon, Lily, and Mimi had been living with them for the past week since Damon's house had been invaded by ants. The large house was being exterminated and Stefan had insisted they stay with him so Lily wouldn't have to stay at a hotel. Elena hadn't really cared one way or another. It was a large house and if she didn't want to see Katherine, she didn't have to really. "Morning" Elena said.

"Uh huh" Katherine replied, picking up her glass of orange juice as she turned the page in her magazine. Elena accepted her reply and went to work, getting a bowl of ice cream. She added a few things on top and took a large bite as she walked past Katherine.

Katherine looked at Elena with utmost disgust. "What?" Elena asked, seeing Katherine's distinct look of disapproval.

"You're eating ice cream with pickles and bananas" Katherine said, raising her eyebrow. Elena wiped at her mouth as she looked down at her bowl of ice cream. She in fact was eating vanilla ice cream with pickles and bananas. It was disgusting, yet so good. A quizzical glare spread across Katherine's face. "Are you pregnant?" she asked.

Elena swallowed what she had in her mouth as she stared at Katherine. "No" she said, though the panic was evident. "I don't know" she said, setting her ice cream down. "Oh God" she said, running out of the room.

Elena had driven to the drug store and bought one of those home pregnancy tests, praying that Katherine hadn't mentioned this to anyone yet. She wracked her brain for any other signs of pregnancy as she waited nervously to check the test that was sitting on her bathroom counter. She counted on her fingers to see if she was late. Maybe a week or two. She hadn't really felt sick though. Maybe a little tired. Had she missed taking her pill? Not that she could think of. So no, she couldn't be pregnant. She pushed the idea out of her head as she walked to the counter and grabbed the pregnancy test. She checked the box to see how to read the results. Two pink lines indicated pregnancy.

She had two pink lines.

Elena sunk down to the floor against the cabinet under the sink. She looked at the pregnancy stick she was holding once again. "Oh God" she said, slowly letting herself believe it. Of course she knew that the doctor's results would be the only way to know for sure, but the more she looked at the test in her hands, the more she was really starting to believe that she was pregnant.

She and Stefan hadn't talked about having a baby in a long time. She had begun to think that he wasn't interested in kids anymore. She had always just pictured this moment a little differently. One where she and Stefan were actually trying to get pregnant and he was in the bathroom with her, waiting and excited to see if they had accomplished their goal yet.

She wanted to tell him about this so he could go with her to the doctor. The only time she would have with him alone was that night. Damon, Katherine, and Lily were going out to dinner. She could tell Stefan then.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You didn't eat much tonight. Everything okay?" he asked her as he put their dishes away.

She thought about telling him yes, but that little voice in the back of her head told her she needed to come clean and tell him. So, she sighed. "I need to talk to you" she said.

He looked at her with a bit of concern. "Okay" he said, sitting her down at the table. He sat next to her. "What is it?" he asked.

She took in a small breath before letting it out. "I … I think I might be … pregnant" she said, avoiding his eyes, too afraid to see his reaction. "I have to go to the doctor still, to make sure, but I think I really am this time" she added quietly. Elena waited for him to get up, walk off or get mad at her. Anything would have been better than the silence. "I'm sorry" she added, still avoiding his eyes.

Stefan moved towards her, kneeling on the ground in front of her and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. "For what?" he asked. "For getting pregnant?" he asked and his heart broke when he felt her nod against him. "Honey, that takes two people, remember?" he asked. The lightness to his joke helped. A lot. He pulled away from her and cupped her face, glad that she was looking at him now. "I told you in the beginning that I wanted a few years with you before we had kids. I think I've made you wait long enough" he told her, smiling as he brushed his thumb across her cheek. "So, if you are pregnant, then we had better go out and celebrate" he smiled, leaning in and kissing her. "And if not, then we had better go back upstairs and make it happen" he whispered against her lips.

Elena wrapped her arms around him tightly, relief passing through her. It was silly to think he would be upset about it. "I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too, Elena" he told her, kissing her cheek. "The last thing I would ever want is for you to be nervous to tell me something" he said, rubbing her back gently.

"Maybe it's the hormones" Elena laughed slightly.

"I hope so" he said and she could tell he was smiling. "You'll call and schedule an appointment?" he asked. Elena nodded. "Good" he said, kissing the side of her head. "So what do you want to do for the rest of the evening?" he asked, his hands hinting at what he wanted to do.

Elena laughed slightly because it tickled more than anything. "I'm kind of tired" she said, grabbing onto his hands with hers. "Maybe we can just go to bed early?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Sure" he said, standing up with her. He held her hand as she followed him around, turning off almost all of the lights, but leaving enough on for Lily, Damon, and Katherine.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You are indeed pregnant" the doctor stated, walking in with the results.

Elena felt Stefan squeeze her hand before he stood up and plucked her off of the examining table, spinning her around. "Hell yes!" he said, hugging her against him as he finally stopped spinning. Elena hugged him back, more excited than anxious like she had been.

"Congratulations you two. I've written Elena a prescription for her vitamins and I'll schedule you both for an ultrasound in about a month. You're not that far along. About a month or so, but we'll have a better idea at your next appointment" the doctor said, scribbling out the prescription and handing it to Elena.

"Thank you" Elena said, reaching for it.

Stefan waited until the doctor left the room before he embraced Elena and gave her a passionate kiss. "You ready for this?" he asked.

"Definitely" she smiled, pulling him back into a kiss.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They waited until she was four months along before they told anyone. Katherine had told Damon, but that was it. They really wanted to make sure the pregnancy was going well before telling Lily so as not to upset her if something happened. But Elena could only hide her growing stomach for so much longer before Lily realized something was up. Though, at ten, she wasn't nearly as excited about the baby as she would have been a few years ago.

"That's cool" Lily shrugged. Stefan and Elena looked at one another and grinned. "So, what are you going to name it?" she asked.

"Well, we thought about Brooke for a girl and Aiden for a boy" Elena told her.

"Cool" she said again.

"You were a lot more excited about Elena having a baby when you were seven" Stefan pointed out.

Lily shrugged again. "That's because I was a little kid Uncle Stefan" she said, rolling her eyes. "Can I go back upstairs now and finish putting the music onto my iPod?" she asked. Yes, Stefan had given her a new iPod to help ease in the fact that Lily would no longer be the only child in the family. Clearly, it had worked.

"Yeah" Stefan smiled, holding his arms out for his hug. Lily hugged Elena too, careful to avoid her stomach. She ran along and then back up to her room.

"Think she'll be more interested when they baby gets here?" Elena smiled.

"Probably" Stefan said, helping Elena up. They went outside, deciding to take a short walk before the rain set in the next day.

"Boy or girl?" Elena asked, knowing at their next appointment, they would hopefully find out what they were having.

Stefan pondered her question for a moment before shrugging. "I have no preference as long as he or she is just like you" he said.

Elena smiled up at him as they walked. "I want a girl" she said.

"Okay. A girl first and a boy later" Stefan said, figuring that would be fair. Because secretly, he wanted a boy. He had already helped raise a girl. And the girls were outnumbering the boys.

"You want two kids?" Elena asked.

"Well yeah" he answered. "Kids need siblings to blame things on" he said.

Elena laughed. "Good point" she said, tugging on his arm and indicating that she wanted to sit down on the garden bench and rest. She rested her head against his shoulder and rested her eyes for a moment.

"I love you" he whispered, leaning in closer to her.

"I love you too" she said, smiling as she snuggled closer to him.

He put one arm around her and rested his other hand on her stomach, pulling her as close as possible. Four years ago, he couldn't have ever imagined having kids, let alone, being excited about it. Now, he could barely wait five more months for the baby to be born. It was pretty amazing how one person could change your whole perspective on life.

But she had done it. Never would he have thought that he would find a forever with someone. Thankfully though, he did.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: This is just a short piece I did, allowing us to see Brooke interact with her family. This is the final update for Until Never Means Forever. Yes, there is a bit of a twist to it, but, I think the story has ended for now :)**

**Thank you so much for reading. You all rock! Stay tuned for the Power Outage (being added to My Life Without You) and the new story (still to be named)!**

Brooke loved the horses. Even at four years old, she had developed quite an interest in them. Every day, she would walk side-by-side with Stefan, holding his hand as she concentrated on where her little cowgirl boots were stepping. Though she knew quite well that if she did stumble, her daddy was going to catch her.

Elena would watch at every chance she got from Brooke's bedroom window. Rain, sun, or snow, they walked out to see the horses together every day. It was precious to see a grown man walking extra slow as a small child tried to keep up next to him.

Once they got to the barn, Stefan would pull a horse out for her and hold her up so she could brush the horse. He'd even let her sit on one of the horses. It made her smile every time. He'd even started taking Brooke riding, letting her sit with him in the saddle. Elena had been against it at first, but seeing how excited Brooke was every time she got to ride slowly made Elena ease up on worrying so much.

Then it was the same once they were done. Stefan would walk with Brooke, side-by-side at her pace back to the house. Sometimes she would find rocks or sticks along the way that she would have to stop and pick up. Sometimes, she would be so tired that Stefan would carry her and she would be sound asleep by the time Stefan came through the front door.

This particular day though, she was full of energy, picking up every stick she could find. "Daddy look" she said, waving a stick in her hand.

"That's a good stick" Stefan told her, smiling at how much she was concentrating on it.

"I know" Brooke answered. She picked up another one and looked it over. "This one's not very good, but you can have it Daddy" she said, handing it to him. She wacked a weed with her stick as they continued on their way.

"Thank you" Stefan said, hanging on to his stick.

When they came back to the house, Katherine was standing in the driveway. Brooke's eyes lit up when she saw her. "Aunt Katherine!" she squealed, dropping her stick and running as fast as her little legs would carry her.

Katherine was never one for affection, but she knelt down and accepted the little girl's bear hug. "Hi sweetheart" Katherine said, hugging her right back. "Were you out with the horses?" she asked.

Brooke pulled away from Katherine and nodded. "Uh huh" she answered. "Daddy's gonna take me riding tomorrow. He promised" Brooke said, looking back at Stefan.

Katherine smiled as she looked at him too. "He does keep his promises" she said, and there was a faint hint of regret in her voice. Because she hardly ever kept hers.

A car horn honked and Stefan looked up to see a bright red Audi R8 Spyder pulling up. Yes, Lily had turned 16 the day before and Damon had bought her a $200,000 car. Because nothing was too expensive for his baby girl.

When the car stopped, Brooke ran towards the driver's side, waiting for Lily to get out. "Hey" Lily smiled, popping her Gucci sunglasses up on top of her head and bending down to pick up Brooke. At 16, Lily was the spitting image of Katherine. Tall, slim, and long chocolate brown curly hair. "What do you think of my new car?" she asked.

Brooke smiled. "Very pretty!" she told her.

Lily shut her door and carried Brooke towards the house while Damon got out of the car. "Hey Uncle Stefan" Lily said, waving at him.

He waved back and shook his head. "What?" Damon asked innocently.

Brooke heard Damon and instantly wiggled her way out of Lily's arms. "Uncle Damon!" she yelled, running towards him. He grabbed her, swinging her up into his arms. "Will you buy me a car like that too?" she asked.

"You bet I will" he said, kissing the top of her head. He again saw Stefan shaking his head, but Damon ignored his brother. "Guess what?" he asked. "You are spending next weekend with us" he reminded her.

"I know" she told him. "I already packed!" she said excitedly. Brooke loved Uncle Damon and Aunt Katherine's because they didn't have rules. It was junk food until you fell asleep. Once in a while wouldn't hurt her though, Stefan figured.

"You did?" Damon asked with just as much excitement. He was amazing with her. "We're going to the zoo and the aquarium" he added as he walked towards the house.

"Both?" Brooke asked, a happy and surprised look on her face. They continued to chat as they went inside.

Katherine and Stefan eventually followed. "I hope the next one turns out just like the first two" Katherine mentioned as she walked alongside him. They were both loving and adorable kids.

"Elena and I will do our best" Stefan smiled. They were already trying again, and he couldn't have been happier.

They stopped as Katherine opened the door. She turned and looked at him with her infamous smirk. "I wasn't talking about you and Elena" she said.

Stefan's eyes showed his surprise as he looked down towards her stomach. "You're pregnant?" he asked, shocked and confused and a whole lot of other things. "Does Damon know?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet" she told him. She saw Stefan's questioning eyes searching for more information and she just rolled her own eyes. "We weren't trying. It just … happened" she shrugged. "The only thing he's ever wanted from me was to have another baby. Better late than never I suppose" Katherine said, smirking again as she left Stefan dumbfounded at the front door.

"Everything okay?" Elena asked, finding him standing out there.

He just smiled. What else could he do? His family was perfectly imperfect, and even the ones he was sure of that could never surprise him, eventually did. "Everything's fine" he assured her, placing a quick kiss on her lips before leading her inside.

END


End file.
